Why is this?

[Arj]

If you're an artist, this text wall is worth your time, I promise.

So, imagine your shower breaks, and it's something in the plumbing. That it's a pipe somewhere in the wall that needs to be ripped out and replaced. You get a plumber to come and fix it, and when you pay him and he leaves, your bathroom is trashed, there's a hole in the wall, and your shower still doesn't work. You would say that this person is a bad plumber, yes?

Why can't you tell someone they're bad at art or not an artist?

I've never understood this. Take two examples. Etsy and deviantart. On Etsy, you're not allowed to say anything negative about anyone's work ever. Even if it's terrible. You can buy a paper lantern at the store for twenty dollars, put it up as hand made lighting, and sell it for 80 or however many dollars, and you can't say jack.

Both of those examples have used money though. On dA, excluding prints, art isn't put up for money. You post art because you want to post art. Also not counting commissions. Just, art. If someone publicly posts their art, is it wrong of you to say, "Your lines on shaky. You might want to work on your shading and lay off the photoshop effects?" Is it wrong to say something isn't art when it's the 28th in a 50 piece series of crotch shots? The first in the series?


Consider this, for a moment. I've always been told, all through school, by jaded art teachers, that art is everywhere and everything is art. 7 art classes later, I support one half of this theory. Art is everywhere. In truth, just about anything can be art.

But everything definitely is not art.

Even if you draw it. Even if you paint it. Even if you dodge and burn and lens flare it. Even if that 28th flaccid penis is posed so artfully. And don't mistake that for me saying that nudity = not art. I'm referring to the overwhelming amount of straight up porn that makes it on to dA.

In addition to this, I also believe that, no, not everyone can be an artist. You need creativity, which a lot of people have, yeah, but you also need skill which a lot of people do not have and do not have the patience and discipline to get.

Don't mistake this as an I'm-such-a-good-artist-give-me-your-love-now post. I personally find myself decent with a hell of a lot of room to improve. I post this because an acquaintance of mine recently entered an online art contest and posted it all over facebook to get her friends to like it so she can get 1000 dollars for college or something. There isn't a lot of good stuff in it, but the amount of utter crap her entry was plus the fact that it has sixty something freaking likes while most have two just makes me rage.

Discuss.

[que]

I feel the same way, almost.

However, one person's trash can be another person's treasure.
What you think looks like utter garbage... may be a masterpiece to the client that had commissioned the artist, or something along those lines.

I don't know why it's so frowned upon to tell an artist that something is wrong with their art.

I honestly think it has to do with maturity, and the mental capacity of the person you're critiquing.
Some people don't know how to handle critique, and thus freak out and say you're just "jealous" or "mean" and stuff like that.

However, I think it all comes down to common courtesy and personal judgement.

If someone asks for critique, give them it.
If you see something extremely off, and they haven't asked for critique- ask them if they'd like some.
If they ask for no critique- don't give them it. It's their loss and they will fail to grow as a better artist.



On the topic of contest fails, and such...
I entered a contest to design a logo for a local hot spot in my town.

This was my entry:


This is the entry that won, because of voting:


The contest was to design a logo for a CLASSY - SLEEK - NIGHT CLUB/ HOTSPOT.

... I don't know at all HOW that logo represents the entertainment centrum at all.
It looks like a logo for a yearly medieval festival... or some comedy club revolving around jesters.

Public voting is very biased in art contests.
I just cease to enter them now, absolute garbage always seems to win. .____.
Not to mention the people holding the contests pay out $500, for over $10,000 worth of work.
It's just ridiculous.

[Arj]

...ew. I mean, it's not a bad logo. They know what they're doing. But you're right. It doesn't seem at all applicable for the establishment.


The entry in question:

"You did so good! I'm so proud of you." "I think this is pretty beast."



She's 18. And she entered this in an art contest.

ಠ____ಠ

The prize is 1000 bucks and a computer and 5000 for your school's art program. She doesn't go to a school. She graduated high school last year, and she told everyone she was going to Vanderbilt (expensive, I think it's probably the most respected in TN) but never bothered filling out an application. She's convinced she's going to be an artist/musician/actor, but she can't sing and she's never picked up an instrument and can't dance at all, and she's got such an awkward/forced personality that she could never act if she wanted to. I still peer mentor at the high school she went to, so I'm thinking about telling all the art teachers about the art competition Monday, so our school's budding new art program can get the 5k - after years and years of just offering art I, art II, etc as the only art classes, we now have painting and drawing, printmaking, 2D design, clay, and they want to add more. I'd rather it all go to them.

The whole thing just feels like an insult to art. She's selfish and not in the least bit artistic. She was lazy in school, so she has a bad transcript, and she has no initiative, but she's got one of the leading entries in the contest right now because it's decided by how many people on FB like it/people on twitter tweet it. Fuuuuuuuuuuhthischick.

[que]

ಠ____ಠ wat.
I definitely do not like this voting stuff.
I am at a loss for words.

[Arj]

In the statement that accompanies it, she also claims to be an honor student (she wasn't) and to have multiple part time jobs. With an s. Jobs. She worked a couple nights a week at a mexican restaurant for a couple months. D| She doesn't even go to a school for the 5k to go to. e ^ e

[Becca]

I wrote a huge post, decided it was too wordy and I'm starting again, simply.

What is THAT THING? That 'entry', that 5 minute doodled piece of so called artwork or scrawl? That isn't even art by most contemporary standards, I mean, the faces are drawn on lined paper. I go to a design college and we recently got contemporary art magazines to cut out, and even the worst line drawings in there didn't equate to the sub-standard of this piece of artwork. If I find that image, I will give it the gratitude it deserves.

Perhaps I'm being too serious, but art this like makes me angry because I go to college with a LOT of people like the person above, and have been for two years. They whinge, are half-assed, and don't want or try to improve. They think their art is the greatest, and their judgment must be clouded by their overly huge ego. Everyone can improve in art in some way or another, and to know that there are people like this just makes me want to resort to violence or something.

But then again, art really is in the eye of the beholder.

I drew a really, really bad contemporary style art image of pigs the other week, as a parody, infact, and my classmates actually commented me on it, how 'cute' and 'nice' it was. I just don't get it. It was like a childs drawing, yet they probably prefer it over my serious art. o.o

Edit: I'm on the page now and someone has apparently submitted an image of NARUTO. What.

[Elz]

Honestly, I agree with you both. xD
I dont think critique is wrong, but often I'm too intimidated to give it. In my art class alone most people there.. hate drawing. They cant draw and dislike drawing, but if they do one image they think its amazing and I just want to tell them to get a grip because its so terrible their children can do better <_>

And I never enter contests either. The last one I did was on subeta where the contest starter actually added me on msn and told me I'd win, but could she just have a few edits. I worked so hard on one picture for $50 and when it came to it, she stopped speaking to me and let someone else win entirely that was the polar opposite of mine. Not saying it was god awful, but for how long i spent.. ughghh

But bexxy summed it all up for me 8)

If someone asks for critique, give them it.
If you see something extremely off, and they haven't asked for critique- ask them if they'd like some.
If they ask for no critique- don't give them it. It's their loss and they will fail to grow as a better artist.

Edit: Me and becca go to the same college, so what she said sums eeeeverything up. save me now

[Arj]

As artists, we're all full of silent, wordy rage. |D

I know. And I love your work, Becca, you're skilled as holy hell. o A o I don't know how I'll stand it when I'm in college, as the same people in my high school are making me want to rip my hair out as it is.

:I The rage has actually convinced me to speed enter the contest with 4 days left. Here's hoping.

[Arj]

@Elz I can't imagine. And what's worse, I think, than people who can't draw at all, is the people who kind of can, and think they're better than Jesus-Superman-Batman. Because they can draw such a good eye. They can draw just the best freaking eye. Not much else though.

[Arj]

http://www.virtualpetlist.com/showth...lp-me-out-here ....I'm kind of terrible. >->;;