tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12189014.post2003131185168323424..comments2024-03-18T11:06:05.506-04:00Comments on ILLUSTRATION ART: GOTTA SERVE SOMEBODYDavid Apatoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11293486149879229016noreply@blogger.comBlogger39125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12189014.post-28488889171967818812012-06-03T01:29:38.259-04:002012-06-03T01:29:38.259-04:00I adore this blog. I had a browser crash, then a s...I adore this blog. I had a browser crash, then a system crash, then my old computer refused to give up my old links. I bought a new MacMini and it runs like a sports car... But I still missed your great blog. Then my web mail got a message from one of the posters on... 'Bad Art.' Yippeeeee!! Now I'm back. All the opinionated arty artists are here again, all the work a day, real artists are back... and all the hot air bullshit artists, bless em... I love em all... Thank you for all the art. It's all a matter of taste anyway. It all works on some level. I had a look at a spanking art blog on Friday and the technical bits were shocking, lousy anatomy, perspective none existent, in short it was amateur night in Dixi... But they all wanted to illustrate their subject and on that level it was all ok... If you like that kind of thing.<br /><br />Art LoverAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12189014.post-72143313593562223632012-05-22T23:44:50.792-04:002012-05-22T23:44:50.792-04:00i like the art, is really nice..
best regards from...i like the art, is really nice..<br />best regards from Germany<br /><br /><br />(^_^)Nadima - juegos de chicashttp://www.juegosdechicasjuegos.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12189014.post-81211157994082799682012-05-18T10:21:45.935-04:002012-05-18T10:21:45.935-04:00AJA-- I'd divide Mauldin's work into two p...AJA-- I'd divide Mauldin's work into two phases: his World War II series about Willie and Joe and his post war political cartoons. In both categories, he endeared himself to large audiences and displayed a lot of heart (winning a couple of pulitzer prizes in the process). In World war II, for example, the enlisted men loved him and the officers hated him because he made fun of the top brass and refused to back down when General Patton himself threatened Mauldin. So I give Mauldin huge props for that. However, his drawing talent was pretty much limited to the ability to achieve a decent likeness. There was nothing particularly imaginative about his pictures, nothing innovative or sensitive or striking in his art. For example, he was not nearly of the same caliber as MacNelly or Oliphant or a number of other political cartoonists. There are a million people out there who are capable of drawing two arms, two legs and a head as well as Mauldin did. <br /><br />So the question becomes, does the Society of Illustrators Hall of Fame include only the most talented artists, or does it also include popular culture figures who have struck a chord because of their writing or good heart or personal experiences? That's a definitional question that the Society has to resolve for itself.David Apatoffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11293486149879229016noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12189014.post-1471500905863665922012-05-05T23:51:57.170-04:002012-05-05T23:51:57.170-04:00And there is certainly no justification I can thin...And there is certainly no justification I can think of for Bill Mauldin to be in the Society of Illustrators Hall of Fame, except for the fact that he invented two popular World War II cartoon characters, Willie and Joe. His execution was pretty bad.<br /><br />I was wondering if you could explain this. Based on a perfunctory glance, his execution doesn't seem as bad as you're making it out to be.AJAnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12189014.post-60456790225980051552012-05-04T22:32:24.299-04:002012-05-04T22:32:24.299-04:00I'm sure you follow Doc Daves blog - a ton of ...I'm sure you follow Doc Daves blog - a ton of stuff i'd never seen and some of high quality has been posted .<br /><br /> Frankfrazetta.net is , I think , Rodriguez's site and has info on the museum . I'm teaching in Dallas in june and hope to make it to Austin to check it out if it's open .<br /> <br /> AlAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12189014.post-25393198415040492952012-05-04T16:57:31.151-04:002012-05-04T16:57:31.151-04:00Frank and Ellies deaths were faked
Al,
Turns out...<b>Frank and Ellies deaths were faked</b><br /><br />Al,<br /><br />Turns out they faked the fakeness. :(<br /><br />I meant, is there any news about the Frazetta museum moving to Texas? Or any plans for any of the works to be shown as a group anywhere? Any unseen gems turn up recently? Any word on who was forging sketches and attributing them to FF?<br /><br />kevkev ferrarahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09509572970616136990noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12189014.post-35810971524548928402012-05-04T15:03:12.156-04:002012-05-04T15:03:12.156-04:00Not much - Frank and Ellies deaths were faked , th...Not much - Frank and Ellies deaths were faked , they have just wrapped filming a reality show and Frank is launching a painting blog .<br /><br /> AlAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12189014.post-11081904873461546662012-05-04T13:28:18.302-04:002012-05-04T13:28:18.302-04:00Al,
Yes, I've made a few cameo appearances on...Al,<br /><br />Yes, I've made a few cameo appearances on Jim TV. (I have no lines, and they only pay me scale. But the screen time pleases my agent)<br /><br />Hope you're well! Any news from Frazetta-land?kev ferrarahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09509572970616136990noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12189014.post-90785233546166150172012-05-04T01:59:08.763-04:002012-05-04T01:59:08.763-04:00Ferrara --- was that you on the gurneyjourney blog...Ferrara --- was that you on the gurneyjourney blog ??<br /><br /> If so , that must have been a great experence .<br /><br /> Al McLuckieAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12189014.post-28261977140985485712012-05-02T19:56:34.489-04:002012-05-02T19:56:34.489-04:0090% of what we see in galleries today is produced ...90% of what we see in galleries today is produced under tighter constraints than anyone in the commercial sector. The work is no more than a decorative formula, served from a recipe with slight garnish variations. It is only the art emperor’s new clothes that covers up the fact.<br /><br />If I have understood Kev correctly, decorative is a by-product of clarity. Most of the pictures peddled in our fine art galleries are little more than ready made, template clarifications served up with a twist that is pretended to be the mark of artistic worth. <br /><br />The only pictorial problem to solve is how to disguise the fact it has already been solved by someone else.chris bennetthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02088693067960235141noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12189014.post-62827850964235372582012-04-28T05:26:42.618-04:002012-04-28T05:26:42.618-04:00the white text on black is really too difficult to...the white text on black is really too difficult to read for long and leaves the eye highly strained.<br />could you consider some other colour background for the text.<br />am a big fan of your writing and blog.<br />thanks.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12189014.post-3845886159951257402012-04-26T09:19:27.504-04:002012-04-26T09:19:27.504-04:00Etc etc wrote: "While I don't completely ...Etc etc wrote: "While I don't completely agree with Weaver's rant, I do think there is some generalized truth in it."<br /><br />If as you say, art includes an element of judgment and cannot be reduced to "exact formulas" (which surely seems right to me) that is all the more reason for Weaver to refrain from dictating the "necessaries" for art. And it is especially a reason for him to refrain from sneering at fellow illustrators who don't follow his particular formula. When Weaver is dealing with only "generalized truth," a little humility is warranted.<br /><br />Greg Newbold wrote: "Client or collector, art director or gallery owner, they are all cut from the same cloth." <br /><br />I suspect that's right, although every once in a while I cherish the notion that a little intelligent push back from a talented art director (such as a Dick Gangel) might serve a useful purpose for an artist working in isolation. But I generally agree with all your points except "Yesdeayin." (PS-- congrats on your piece in the new Spectrum!)<br /><br />Larry-- Yes, and as with all choices if you make the wrong ones your are ultimately confronted with the consequences of your bad judgment. Those who are "irresponsible, immature, or lucky enough to be independently wealthy" may avoid having their noses rubbed in the consequences for a little while longer, but sometimes that just means the consequences are all the more brutal when they finally arrive.David Apatoffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11293486149879229016noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12189014.post-91063350916169272112012-04-25T23:52:45.823-04:002012-04-25T23:52:45.823-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.kev ferrarahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09509572970616136990noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12189014.post-82631213283373311982012-04-25T22:48:55.402-04:002012-04-25T22:48:55.402-04:00Kev,
That last response lulled me into a stupor. ...Kev,<br />That last response lulled me into a stupor. Brilliant move. You win.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12189014.post-86201134517049325472012-04-25T18:55:13.827-04:002012-04-25T18:55:13.827-04:00Kev; are you not suggesting there is some correlat...<b>Kev; are you not suggesting there is some correlation between "making clear" and "decorativeness"? Yet there are plenty of visual ideas that have been made perfectly clear, but, have no real decorative value by comparison. The decorativeness is correlated to (i.e inherent in) the concept, not of the process of "making clear".</b><br /><br />You show me a visual idea presented without decorative value, and I will show you a confused artistic statement. <br /><br />Inherent in each concept is its pure essence, the core, unique truth of it. It takes enormous sensitivity and understanding to appreciate such things, (the hallmark of the artistic sensibility before the culture went off the rails.) <br /><br />The process of clarifying a concept is somewhat akin to clarifying butter. All the impurities are removed so that what is left is the essence of the thing. And pure essences are beautiful, always. Any concept reaches the height of its beauty when it stands forth in its natural perfection. (This understanding is as old as antiquity.) <br /><br />Left unclarified, a concept is grubby with insensible additives. Like a photo is created grubby by its texture of facts.<br /><br />One cannot clarify anything without having a sense of what the ideal sought might be. In cooking, the formulas are often known. In art, reflection and appreciation and taste and intuition and philosophy and knowledge all play a hand in the process. You can't reduce this to a bumper sticker by saying clearness equals decorativeness. Because the essence of anything is just as easy to "clear out" as the incidental elements if one isn't cognizant of the ideal sought.kev ferrarahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09509572970616136990noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12189014.post-64395810126016848912012-04-25T16:51:32.536-04:002012-04-25T16:51:32.536-04:00Please God
You're an atheist...remember?
Ser...<i>Please God</i><br /><br />You're an atheist...remember?<br /><br />Seriously though, Kev; are you not suggesting there is some correlation between "making clear" and "decorativeness"? Yet there are plenty of visual ideas that have been made perfectly clear, but, have no real decorative value by comparison. The decorativeness is correlated to (i.e inherent in) the concept, not of the process of "making clear".Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12189014.post-54416670121887567682012-04-25T15:14:08.319-04:002012-04-25T15:14:08.319-04:00Oh...by my earlier fine art/commercial art definit...Oh...by my earlier fine art/commercial art definition:<br />T-shirt airbrushed with fake boobs= Fine Art<br />Leyendecker Arrow Collar ads= crass commercial art.<br /><br />So...does this mean I can't slap easy labels on things?<br />That sucks, because taking each work of art on its own merits is time consuming and makes me think too much<br />(now, I'll really shut up...)Normhttp://www.facebook.com/pages/Slow-Monkey/139253419435323?closeTheater=1noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12189014.post-69141259937558302142012-04-25T14:16:17.977-04:002012-04-25T14:16:17.977-04:00Ok...I should shut up now...but I just thought of ...Ok...I should shut up now...but I just thought of another thing. You have NC Wyeth the fine artist, NC Wyeth the illustrator...and NC Wyeth the commercial artist too (didn't he do ads for Cream of Wheat or some such thing?)<br /><br />And then there are murals...which, I'd think would go under the fine art heading...wouldn't they?Normhttp://www.facebook.com/pages/Slow-Monkey/139253419435323?closeTheater=1noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12189014.post-55374960721360951292012-04-25T14:05:16.693-04:002012-04-25T14:05:16.693-04:00Does anyone remember who said ," commercial a...Does anyone remember who said ," commercial art sells something else. Fine art sells itself"<br />I think a lot of illustration can fall comfortably under the latter description. Wyeth's illustrations may have helped make the books more attractive, and "sold" them that way...but when you take the book as a whole (illustrations and all) it really just exists to sell itself.Normhttp://www.facebook.com/pages/Slow-Monkey/139253419435323?closeTheater=1noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12189014.post-62411790232456954712012-04-25T13:57:20.397-04:002012-04-25T13:57:20.397-04:00Kev,
I like your bringing up NC Wyeth in relation ...Kev,<br />I like your bringing up NC Wyeth in relation to this. I just finished his biography and his struggle between illustration and "fine art" was an odd one. Pyle kind of defined illustration for Wyeth, telling him he had to communicate quickly and clearly (but with great thought and craft)<br />Wyeth thought illustration was an intrusion on the real work he should have been doing (Like Mucha and Dore?)<br />But, when Wyeth did his "real" art...it wasn't as good...or maybe even as personal as his illustration.<br />Then to throw another monkey wrench into things...along comes his son Andrew, and does his best work as fine art...and maybe surpassed his father in depth and subtlety (or maybe not...apples and oranges...)Normhttp://www.facebook.com/pages/Slow-Monkey/139253419435323?closeTheater=1noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12189014.post-50492628086204254332012-04-25T12:19:19.351-04:002012-04-25T12:19:19.351-04:00So "clearness" equals "decorativene...<i>So "clearness" <b>equals</b> "decorativeness" according to you?</i> <br /><br />No.<br /><br />Bloody hell, no. <i>Please God</i> read what I write for comprehension instead of hunting for phrases you think you can quickly turn around as argument tactics.kev ferrarahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09509572970616136990noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12189014.post-23490675411228280702012-04-25T08:17:53.842-04:002012-04-25T08:17:53.842-04:00Making a visual idea clear, the clarification of a...<i>Making a visual idea clear, the clarification of a conception is the very way in which a concept is made decorative</i><br /><br />Kev,<br />So "clearness" equals "decorativeness" according to you? Sorry, not buying that.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12189014.post-71423732612016273632012-04-25T03:08:53.896-04:002012-04-25T03:08:53.896-04:00oh, your post is so great. I like it very much.I l...oh, your post is so great. I like it very much.I love <a href="http://www.raybanoakleysunglasshop.com/" title="oakley sunglasses cheap" rel="nofollow">oakley sunglasses cheap</a> very much and concern on <a href="http://www.raybanoakleysunglasshop.com/Discount-oakley-glasses-c-119-b0.html" title="discount oakley sunglasses review" rel="nofollow">discount oakley sunglasses review</a>, <a href="http://www.raybanoakleysunglasshop.com/Discount-ray-ban-glasses-c-116-b0.html" title="discount ray ban sunglasses" rel="nofollow">discount ray ban sunglasses</a> are highly recommended.visachris322https://www.blogger.com/profile/05614985052490702673noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12189014.post-20038334512854318652012-04-25T00:14:07.175-04:002012-04-25T00:14:07.175-04:00You're missing the point.
Making a visual ide...You're missing the point.<br /><br />Making a visual idea clear, the clarification of a conception <i>is the very way</i> in which a concept is made decorative (in the general genre of "realism" -- broadly defined). <br /><br />So it is the illustrative aspect, the making clear, of fine art that gives it its decorative character. <br /><br />The principle at work is called Breadth. It is operating at full strength in Ingres, Brangwyn, Wyeth, Sargent, Everett, Vermeer, Rubens, and Leyendecker just to name a few. The philosophy and manner behind the clarification of visual concepts is slightly different for every artist, which is what makes great artwork by great artists so fascinating to study.<br /><br />Just in terms of form: For one it is a way to create ideality, for another it is a way to give a strong flatness for a mural, for another it is a way to achieve anatomic volume, for another it is a way to give a sense that existential solidity has been transcended, and on and on.<br /><br />So the axis of distinction you are teetering on doesn't really exist. <br /><br />Your last few sentences about deferring to Michelangelo for a fresco but not for book illustration misses the fact that a fresco is an illustration, and that a lot of the great book illustrators from the Golden Age were given great leeway in their work, perfect freedom sometimes among the top tier guys, far more than any artist illustrating a bible story on a potentate's wall ever had, I'm sure.<br /><br />Overall, the fundamental insight you are failing to arrive at regarding commerciality is simply this; nature does not make blank rectangles. So all blank rectangles are <i>products</i>. Any work done to beautify said blank rectangles is done to increase their value as products. Variations in the size, nature or geography of any particular blank rectangle, who's paying for it and when, what the content is, that's all incidental to the basic nature of the thing.kev ferrarahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09509572970616136990noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12189014.post-28174885286076740622012-04-24T19:27:54.385-04:002012-04-24T19:27:54.385-04:00"Illustration" means/meant a making clea...<i>"Illustration" means/meant a making clear.</i><br /><br />Kev,<br /><br />I agree that is highly relevant to illustration, but I don't see "making clear" as the objective of fine art; it is rather the pursuit of decorative/formal beauty in and of itself. And it makes perfect sense to me that a fine artist, through expertise in formal beauty (assuming they possess it), would be far more likely to be deferred to when the objective is decorative/formal beauty. An illustrator, on the other hand, is a hired gun to express another person's specific wishes; supporting a text or presentation of a product. If I could hire Michelangelo to design and fresco a palazzo for me, I'd be stupid not to defer to his <i>giudizio</i>; however, if I were to hire him to illustrate my novel or advertise my product, I would not defer to him nearly so much if he did not at the very least "make clear" my basic conceptual intentions.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com