Unrelenting Pursuit of Excellence

I am a little caught up with life issues but I noticed a movie I saw at the Hawaii International Film Festival last October is opening in wide release this weekend and I wanted to mention it.

Jiro Dreams of Sushi is a documentary about Jiro Ono, regarded as the world’s best sushi chef. His was the first sushi restaurant to be awarded three Michelin stars. I don’t particularly like sushi but it was well worth seeing this man’s artistry depicted fifteen feet long on a movie screen.

Jiro has never been satisfied with his accomplishments and always pushes to do better even at 85 years old. He has personal relationships with his suppliers, many of whom adhere to similarly high standards. His rice supplier won’t sell the type of rice Jiro uses to anyone else because he feels they don’t know how to cook it. It actually requires cooking under very high pressure to achieve the results Jiro does.

As I watched the movie, I thought about those in the arts and culture industry and wondered who among us is willing to labor in obscurity perfecting our craft. To achieve what Jiro has, you have to be willing to pursue perfection for its own sake alone and not for recognition in any form.

How long before you compromise your vision or give up in the absence of supportive feedback? How many people have sustained their drive whom we have no knowledge?

There is certainly an argument to be made against the type of single mindedness Jiro exhibits. There have been some less than positive outcomes. Yet it is the sole factor upon which his success is based.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbV6knbeUFE]

About Joe Patti

I have been writing Butts in the Seats (BitS) on topics of arts and cultural administration since 2004 (yikes!). Given the ever evolving concerns facing the sector, I have yet to exhaust the available subject matter. In addition to BitS, I am a founding contributor to the ArtsHacker (artshacker.com) website where I focus on topics related to boards, law, governance, policy and practice.

I am also an evangelist for the effort to Build Public Will For Arts and Culture being helmed by Arts Midwest and the Metropolitan Group. (http://www.creatingconnection.org/about/)

My most recent role was as Executive Director of the Grand Opera House in Macon, GA.

Among the things I am most proud are having produced an opera in the Hawaiian language and a dance drama about Hawaii's snow goddess Poli'ahu while working as a Theater Manager in Hawaii. Though there are many more highlights than there is space here to list.

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