"A Work of Art" is a

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...

by American writer

James Blish James Benjamin Blish () was an American science fiction and fantasy writer. He is best known for his ''Cities in Flight'' novels and his series of ''Star Trek'' novelizations written with his wife, J. A. Lawrence. His novel ''A Case of Conscienc ...

. It was first published in the July 1956 issue of ''

Science Fiction Stories ''Future Science Fiction'' and ''Science Fiction Stories'' were two American science fiction magazines that were published under various names between 1939 and 1943 and again from 1950 to 1960. Both publications were edited by Charles Hornig f ...

'' with the title "Art Work". It has often been anthologized, appearing in ''The Worlds of Science Fiction'', ''

The Stars Around Us ''The Stars Around Us'' is a 1970 paperback original anthology of previously published science fiction stories. Contents * "The Stars Around Us" by Robert Hoskins * "The Peddler's Nose" (1951) by Jack Williamson * " The Listeners" (1968) by Jame ...

'' and '' The Golden Age of Science Fiction'', among others.

Plot

In the year 2161, a new medical specialty has been developed, known as "Mind Sculpting." Human personalities from history are re-created and placed into voluntarily donated physical bodies. Two mind sculptors, Drs. Kris and Seirds, re-create the mind of

Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer, conductor, pianist, and violinist. Considered a leading composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras, he has been described as a successor of Richard Wag ...

and place it in a body. After animation, the "new" Dr Strauss is encouraged to re-commence his life as a composer of

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...

, which he does. After some difficulty adjusting to the current techniques and theories of musical composition, which are based largely on

random In common usage, randomness is the apparent or actual lack of pattern or predictability in events. A random sequence of events, symbols or steps often has no :wikt:order, order and does not follow an intelligible pattern or combination. Ind ...

choices on a composition machine, Strauss searches for subjects to inspire him and composes several songs. He then comes across a play by

Christopher Fry Christopher Fry (18 December 1907 – 30 June 2005) was an English poet and playwright. He is best known for his verse dramas, especially ''The Lady's Not for Burning'', which made him a major force in theatre in the 1940s and 1950s. Biograph ...

, ''Venus Observed'', which he realises is an ideal subject for his music. Working to a tight deadline, he completes the

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

and conducts its premiere. But during the performance, he begins to suspect that something isn't quite right, and finally realises that he's used all the same musical language many times before and that he has nothing left to say musically. The

applause Applause (Latin ''applaudere,'' to strike upon, clap) is primarily a form of ovation or praise expressed by the act of clapping, or striking the palms of the hands together, in order to create noise. Audiences usually applaud after a performance ...

, when it comes, is not for him, but for the mind sculptors, and Strauss realises that it was all an experiment. Before the sculptors pronounce the formulation that will destroy the re-created mind and restore the mind of the donor – a man completely devoid of musical ability – he feels the satisfaction that the sculptors will never know that the music lacked any spark of genius: "the 'Strauss'

hey Hey or Hey! may refer to: Music * Hey (band), a Polish rock band Albums * ''Hey'' (Andreas Bourani album) or the title song (see below), 2014 * ''Hey!'' (Julio Iglesias album) or the title song, 1980 * ''Hey!'' (Jullie album) or the title s ...

had created was as empty of genius as a hollow gourd." His final regret is that he will not now be able to set to music ''Personae'', a poem by

Ezra Pound Ezra Weston Loomis Pound (30 October 1885 – 1 November 1972) was an expatriate American poet and critic, a major figure in the early modernist poetry movement, and a Fascism, fascist collaborator in Italy during World War II. His works ...

appropriate to the occasion that he had just discovered.

Commentary

In ''The Worlds of Science Fiction'', James Blish writes:

Ostensibly this is a story about the future of serious music, but actually it proposes no novelties in that field. Its real subject is the creative process itself ... The story adopts a radical scientific assumption in order to make a philosophical and emotional point that could have been made in no other way.

References

External links

* Science fiction short stories Short stories by James Blish 1956 short stories Works originally published in Future Science Fiction and Science Fiction Stories Music in fiction {{1950s-sf-story-stub