Comments on: How the Internet Has Ruined Our Perception of Artists

By: charlie sutton

charlie sutton — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 19:46:54 +0000

Great article! I am a singer songwriter/painter and I am constantly stuck in this modern quagmire. It is the same with musicians as it is with designers and it seems that every one who ever wanted to be a rock star can just get pro tools and a digital drum set. It is like the difference between a collage and a original work of art and in my opinion there is no comparison. I think technology is good up to a point and alot of artists who don’t fit in to the computer world are being left behind even though they spend way more time doing the art then blogging about it (har har).When It’s all about marketing the substance seems to fall by the wayside. I say do it because you are on fire , do it because you have no choice but to purge in a beautiful way. I needed to say that! whew thanks for the soap box… Charlie

By: Michael Mistretta

Michael Mistretta — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 01:42:45 +0000

Emory: I think it’s fair to say that if you are not making a living from a certain medium, let your work speak for you.

Have a website. Have a portfolio. And if you’re good, trust me, you’ll get noticed. You thought Word of Mouth was good? Wait till you see Word of Twitter.

By: Emory Dunn

Emory Dunn — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 23:02:19 +0000

Another great post! Very good point about art. There are too many people who call themselves artistes who have no talent, but it does bring up one question. When do you get the honor of calling yourself a designer, or photographer? When does someone cross the line of ‘having PS’ to ‘being a designer’?

Personally, I call myself a designer because I have designed many logos, websites and such and my clients have been happy, but I am by no means a professional. So when does that (in your expert bloggers opinion) cross over happen?

But once again, another great post. Keep up the good work!

By: Daniele Rossi

Daniele Rossi — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 21:29:16 +0000

If you haven’t already done so, check out Hugh MacCleod’s (sp?) “how to be Creative” manifesto” on the ChangeThis.com site. He talks about this and offers golden advice on being an artist in a world of phonies, etc.

By: Michael Mistretta

Michael Mistretta — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 17:20:01 +0000

Alex: Exactly. Learning a skill (like design or photography) is simply a person’s talent applied through practice and experience.

And there is nothing wrong with people dabbling in art. How else would pros come to be? The problem is when these people (a) follow meaningless “get rich quick” guides thinking that will make or break them, and (b) believe they have a certain level of professionalism to call themselves “designers”. While it leads to a devalued meaning of a “designer”, it allows the true designers stand out all the more.

By: Alex

Alex — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 17:11:30 +0000

Superb post – completely agree with all the above points. I did wonder when I first read the article as the professions I can identify with easily.

I do design as a side job (balancing it with school work) and have pleased each client I have worked with. Everyone does now presume that they’re a designer just because they found a bit out about Photoshop and worked out how to use it – the results tend not to be that great. Without wishing to sound boastful, most, if not all established designers (I’m thinking established people like Shaun Inman and Jon Hicks) have talent in their blood, and they have something that others just don’t possess. All art, whether it be in a written form or a visual form should inspire (part of the reason I read this blog), and it takes more than a guide titled “Make your own portfolio design following these instructions” on a Photoshop tutorial website for your work to count as art.

Whilst I wholeheartedly agree that designers are designers, and can’t be replaced by a member of marketing in a company just because they have worked out how to create shaped text in photoshop (or Paint!), I’m all for people having a go. After all, I’d imagine most people reading your blog (I’m not the sort of person to stereotype, so forgive me if I get this wrong) have got a little bit of creativity about them. Some people (including myself) realise they have a talent after having had a go – I’d say it’s more important for people to know when to stop. Though I’d much rather read a nicely styled website that a plain TImes New Roman website. For that reason I believe its worth at least attempting, even if you find out you aren’t cut out for it and have to resort to someone else’s design.

I’ve made improvements in the time that I’ve been taking photos. I’m far away from being a great photographer. Most people recognise this, and don’t go for attention, it tends to be the bad photogrpahers who scream for ‘more comments on Flickr’, or ‘please come view my photos at my site’.

I don’t mind if people create bad content, I don’t mind if their designs are rubbish or their photos are unoriginal. All this can live out of the way on the internet. What I care about in general is having content thrust upon me, and being constantly forced to look at it. To borrow Michael’s words, “your stuff better stand out”, otherwise you should stop throwing it at me and forcing me to read it!

(No, I’m not a delusional weirdo ranting, I am actually a friendly human being!)

By: Lloyd Goad

Lloyd Goad — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 15:46:43 +0000

Excellent post. i whole heartedly agree. Thank you for your continuing inspiration.

By: Ryan

Ryan — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 06:30:15 +0000

what a post!
I remember when I was free to draw, paint, sculpt and write whatever I wanted… AND had the time to do it; that was when I created real art.
“Most artists give up creating things they love in exchange for a living.”
That’s me… sad I know but this is a harsh reality for a lot of people.
Now I create websites and the sad thing is, that the work doesn’t really exist… it’s virtual.
Turn off the PC, where is it? It’s like the stars we see at night, most of them are extinct, yet they continue to inspire generations of people.
This is what I hope for now in my current role as a designer.