I’m not commenting on the others but “mother” teresa was a piece of shit who only cared about saving “souls” and not lives. so.

I agree, there's talent and then there's hype, the difference being that talent is subjective and hype is marketing. Some people with not much talent get over-hyped while some incredibly talented people get overlooked; then again there are some pretty good creatives who may not be geniuses, but their hype gets in the way. An artist who comes to mind for me is Basquiat. I like his work, but it's taken on an almost mythic quality since his untimely death, which I find off-putting.

I suspect you’re right on many Something I’ve learned ..in life, are those often labeled ‘geniuses’ in one field, are severely lacking in others. I can think of ‘one’ who is now considered by experts to have had an incurable personality disorder; and though he was a brilliant composer, could not maintain a marriage, behave as a father, keep friends or remain stable in the ‘real world.’ He’s not alone, nor alive.

I think the term “genius” has been used a mite too freely. There are undoubtedly some people who can deservedly be labelled thus, but the real ones are few and far between. There are many of the above artists whom I think were very talented, but I wouldn’t describe any of them as geniuses. On the other hand I wouldn’t call any of them frauds unless they themselves had called themselves geniuses, I don’t believe they can be held responsible for the labels others may have attached to them.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder...and so is art. I agree with you on most on the list with some exceptions. Picasso and Pollock are just awful but Frank Sinatra has an amazing voice.

The arts as a whole are just another religion, and like all religions an empty fraud. In some religions you are asked to believe that there is an invisible man in the sky, in the arts you are asked to believe that there is an invisible line which makes one human product an art and another just a craft.

can't agree with you on Sinatra. he had a very good voice & worked hard on phrasing when he started out. many have tried to imitate him but their imitations are pale, indeed.