"Without tradition, art is a flock of sheep without a shepherd. Without innovation, it is a corpse"

Tradition provides the foundational structure and continuity that allows art to be recognized, understood, and appreciated across generations. Like a shepherd guiding a flock, tradition offers a sense of direction and purpose. It gives artists a set of shared references, symbols, conventions, and techniques, that ground their work within a cultural context. Without such anchors, creative expression risks becoming aimless, lacking the coherence that binds disparate efforts into a recognizable field. The collective memory and inherited wisdom embedded in tradition are not merely restrictive but grant artists the language and tools with which to begin their exploration.

Yet, tradition alone is insufficient to keep art alive and relevant. If artists only imitate what has come before, art can become stagnant and lifeless, repeating itself without adding anything new. The comparison to a corpse highlights the inertness that results from refusing to innovate. Innovation breathes life into tradition, rejuvenating forms and concepts, ensuring that art evolves and adapitates to changing societies, perspectives, and values. Through innovation, artists challenge boundaries, question norms, and express new ideas, making the field dynamic and responsive to its time. It is the vital force that transforms inherited techniques and subjects, enabling art to address contemporary issues and resonate on a personal level.

Holding tradition and innovation in balance is crucial. One without the other diminishes the full potential of artistic creation, tradition without innovation leads to ossification, whereas innovation without tradition can result in chaos or incomprehensibility. Together, they allow artists to pay homage to the past while inventively shaping the future. Churchill’s observation underscores that true vitality in the arts emerges neither from static repetition nor unchecked novelty, but in the creative tension between stability and change. Such a balance produces works that are both meaningful within their cultural lineage and fresh in their vision, ensuring art’s enduring relevance and capacity to inspire.