Artists are Elitists.
My car seems fine. Got a jump, and it started in less than 20 seconds of being connected. TomTom wasnt working properly so maybe the cig lighter connector was draining all the juice? Also much corrosion on the terminals. 
"jimiyo you are a talented man and i mean that sincerely but your heart is in the wrong place. designbyhumans is like the easy target for people looking to make money in a smaller arena than threadless. all of these images, i feel, show tons of hindered potential. don't think in terms of tshirts dude. just draw because it's in you. there are great compositions here, great linework, great balances between light and dark, but they're photoshopped onto models dude. i mean come on. this new almost baroque phase of tshirt designing has always spoken to me of envy and spite and lowest common denominators. snap out of it."
On the internet, people know what is in my heart of hearts as if they were my kindred spirit, I am the accused, and they are the judges.
These comments usually come from other artists that are fairly adept, and usually in a different market, and usually from a more skilled base than the t-shirt design market. It comes off as pretentious to me, because they are uninformed about my pursuits, and the market. It is a rarity that I ever do anything strictly to pander to the audience, and regardless, if creating art, you have an audience, and you are always trying to please the crowd somehow. By creating imagery based on some laws of reality or even rules of art like creating pleasant composition or colorways, you are bowing, no matter what.
Even if you break the norm, and take a dump on a canvas and present it as art, you still took a dump on a canvas which is usually what art goes on. How bout you take a dump in jar? Maybe then you might finally be abstracting from pleasing an audience.
So regardless of if you are making art for fine museums, millionaire patrons, or t-shirt art, it's all the same.
Besides, comments as such is great fodder for thought.
Also, I too, am elitist.
I make my small livelihood on my art, mostly on the art and topics I want to create. People are coming to me for my skillset and for my vision. It's more than what other artists I know have accomplished.
Certainly, if you are an artist that doesn't work for someone else, and sell your own ideas and people come to you for it, please feel free to cast the first stone... I am beneath you.
I make art, because I want to be a better artist, and certainly money does come in to play cause I dont want to work for someone else, but mainly, because I want to make something people think is frickin awesome.
*** I've been looking on the internet, dictionary, etc to understand more about this term "lowest common denominator."
Apparently it seems to be mean, in my case, art that appeals to the widest group of audience possible. Or possibly the most inexpensive and attainable way to expose my art?
Is this correct?
If so, by the comment, art that is more difficult to attain, or purchase, OR pleases the a less diverse demographic is more valued?
Is this correct?
Well either way, I don't care. I don't cater to the likes of the contest audience much, they often times comment that my work would rather be suited for posters or canvas. I don't care about their opinions either. I'm "arrogant" enough to continue on my track. In the future, I may transition to illustration, but Im not going to fool myself into thinking illustration or oil paintings are just as important or not important as any other type of art. None of it, Nothing matters, except happiness and survival.
HA.
5 comments:
your designs are great and I praise you often as I wear my DBH shirts. Threadless is bigger but cheasy "art"
That last picture made me giggle and forget everything I just read as I wondered what was going through your head when you posted kid who peed himself.
Jeez! I have to get to sleep as I am scheduled to awaken in less than 6 hours for my big festival. Weeeeee!
I think what the guy was trying to say that is that you clearly have a talent for art but choose the easiest way to money, not worrying about your 'integrity' as an artist.
Personnaly, I think your tshirts definitely show lots of technical skills, but they're also very cluttered, and camp as hell.
You are catering to a larger audience, which is a good way to get easy money I guess, and it isn't necessarly a bad thing, since it's really hard to make a decent living as an illustrator these days, but these designs are so impersonal and generic it hurts. You're just splashing around tons of elements, birds, other animals, lots of drapery, latin quotes, flowers, trendy baroque swirls...it's like you're making a cake and putting fruits on top, then vanilla icing, then chocolate chips, then chocolate icing then everything else you have in your fridge, each element may be good to eat seperatly, but all together it comes of as a gross mess.
These designs will probably sell because they're filled with everything that's trendy right now, but trends come and go and in a year's time, you won't even be able to put them in a portfolio cause they'll come off as camp and unfashionable.
You definitely have the ability to do things way more personal and original than that, money isn't everything, and if your illustrating work is really original you'll be successful and probably even moreso than by doing these headache inducing tshirt designs.
You can ignore my comment and consider it pretentious, it probably is, but I'm not trying to be a dick there, I just think you can do much more than stuff like that.
kal:
It's not easy making money entering contests.
Many of the comments you made are assumptive, therefore somewhat flawed.
I feel when I get these comments, it usually comes with an underlying message of
'You have such great potential with obvious technical talent to transition into most any other medium, its a shame you work on what artists feel is a lower level market.'
Which if my thoughts are true about what I feel is the main message,
Then if by potential we are to judge all,
Then all ought to be judged harshly, as everyone has the ability to ascend to a higher level of skill and ability, 'greatness' even.
I judge myself pretty harshly to become better at my craft. Regardless of whether if you or other artists, view the market I work within as a lowest common denominator,
I still inspire.
I still amaze.
I help other learn.
And if by that, I have some effect, to make someone strive to do the same and through extraordinary efforts become more than an ordinary person living a complacent and typical lifestyle,
I have done what I intended to do.
It is not my art that is the message, its the work behind the art, because through effort and hard work, anyone can reach almost any level of success they desire.
Do you understand Im coming from?
I understand your view, because you don't know me and my work.
Also, Im not trendy. I don't win alot. It makes me angry that you assume its so easy to win. I win without being trendy, or at least win without purposely putting in things I think will win.
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