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While the likes of a genius can entertain the world – it takes a genius to spot a super-genius.
History gives us example after example that only a genius can be dumbfounded or awed by greater genius, a super-genius.
Perhaps the best example comes in the movie Good Will Hunting. In the movie a Fields Medal winning Math Professor discovers that a janitor, Will Hunting, played by Matt Damon, is a genius far far beyond anything the Math Professor can imagine. The professor tells the janitor that perhaps only five people in the word are smart enough to be dumbfounded by the super-genius, the janitor, Will Hunting.
Mozart's story, Amadeus, echoes the same. While the rest of the world was, at best, entertained with Mozart's music it took one of the greatest composers of his time, Antonio Salieri, to be literally dumbfounded by the super-genius Mozart.
So too with Johann Sebastian Bach. For over two hundred years Bach was unknown to the world until two geniuses of music Franz List and Frederic Chopin came along to be dumbfounded at the super-genius of Bach.
– it takes a genius to spot a super-genius.
Today Mozart and Bach are the standard of genius by which all musicians/composers are measured.
Robert Fawcett.
When Norman Adams was still a youngster he obsessively bought and even stole every magazine/ book that had illustrations by great Illustrators, especially Robert Fawcett. Fawcett was so good at what he did that he became known as the “Illustrators Illustrator.” Even as a child Norman Adams was aware that of all the Illustrators Robert Fawcett was such a creative genius with his art that, more than any other artist, he was a benchmark for all Illustrators.
Today, Robert Fawcett is in History's “Black-Hole.” But when Norman Adams was awed by Robert Fawcett he was exactly like Mozart was to music: Robert Fawcett was so creative with his art that he was the standard by which “the most creative, successful, wealthy and famous professionals (Famous Artists School) the world has EVER known” would be judged.
Norman Adams.
The story of Norman Adams is the story of “Time and Place.” This story, however, needs Robert Fawcett to fathom.
Most of the successful Illustrators took Robert Fawcett to be an Illustrator’s Illustrator. By the time Norman Adams arrived on a red-carpet at the Charles E. Cooper Studio, in New York, Robert Fawcett was an old man. Norman Adams met this old man, Robert Fawcett, only once. It was at a Society of Illustrators meeting.
The young neophyte Norman spotted the Old Man, Robert Fawcett, at the other end of the auditorium and was so intimidated by his idol/god that he had to turn around and occupy himself eating appetizers.
Then the unimaginable happened: Norman’s idol/god, Robert Fawcett, came up behind the young neophyte Norman, touched him on the shoulder and -- just like Salieri must have introduced himself to Mozart – the Illustrator’s Illustrator introduced himself to Norman Adams.
Only after I watched the movie Good Will Hunting, and Amadeus, did I realize why Robert Fawcett -- the Illustrator’s Illustrator -- would go up and introduce himself to a neophyte, a relative unknown, like Norman Adams. Robert Fawcett knew exactly why Charles E. Cooper rolled out the proverbial red-carpet for the youngster Norman Adams. Just like Antonio Salieri was just one of a few in the world that could fathom the genius that made Mozart the best ... so too only a very few people in the world, like Charles E. Cooper and Robert Fawcett, realized that Norman Adams was a creative genius who had both the technical skills and artistic versatility that made him the best.
If this story seems surreal ... then Norman Adams' story of Time and Place brings it into the real.
-- Geza Palotas
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