Nabakov is wrong. You are wrong. Tying complexity into greatness is failing to understand both words. Great art knows what it is and does it well. Sometimes it can be incredibly simple. Sometimes it can be complex. The important part is that it understand what it is and be that. If what it is is simple then it should be simple very well. If your song is the Sex Pistol’s Anarchy in the UK don’t try to turn it into a King Crimson song. If your song is supposed to be this big ol noodle jam of intricate chord progression don’t try to squeeze it into 2 minutes of angst. Great art is what it should be.
The gist of it is, that not all complexity is great but greatness is always complex.