Yes, we need more art discussion. Apart from how some artists may feel about fans showing and discussing their art, we have the challenge of empowering fans to discuss the art. It is hard enough to find reviews/discussions of fic/zines...art discussions are almost impossible to find.
To be fair, many fans don't feel they *can* discuss art - one of the attractions of tumblr is you can just reblog and say: look!!!! pretty!!! The lack of knowledge of art forms, tropes and the inability to describe what it is the eye is seeing can be intimidating. Last month a few of us were asked to provide art commentary on fanzine art. Unlike digital art there was no website to point to, no artist page, and in many cases the zine stories were not even online. This led to us trying to comment on art without having any context and resulted in (sometimes) hilarious situations like:
Commentator A: amazing piece of art. the soft romantic glow, the hands touching and the IDIC brooch Spock is wearing all conveys a sense of warmth and intimacy.
(a few days later, another fan tracks down a copy of the zine, after much begging and pleading, peeks at the story and sheepishly edits the commentary:
Commentator B: The glow around the character is a sign the character has been possessed by an alien. The touching hands are the beginning of a telepathic rescue effort, an attempt to wrest the alien from the character's mind. The IDIC brooch is a hidden message to the trapped friend that Spock is there in an official Starfleet capacity and that, if the rescue attempt fails, his friend must be prepared to be destroyed. Still, some fans find this scene romantic due to the soft focus and intimate positions of the characters.
The original commentary did not say exactly all of this (aka edited to make the humorous point) , but there was a disconnect between what we thought we were seeing and what was happening. And while I think it was funny, I can think of many fans who might be offended by the fact that someone attempted to comment on the art without reading the story. The fact that the story is in a 25 year old, out of print zine, that only 5 fans in the world still own, wouldn't matter. So add this to the list of intimidation factors: what if I get it wrong?
no subject
To be fair, many fans don't feel they *can* discuss art - one of the attractions of tumblr is you can just reblog and say: look!!!! pretty!!! The lack of knowledge of art forms, tropes and the inability to describe what it is the eye is seeing can be intimidating. Last month a few of us were asked to provide art commentary on fanzine art. Unlike digital art there was no website to point to, no artist page, and in many cases the zine stories were not even online. This led to us trying to comment on art without having any context and resulted in (sometimes) hilarious situations like:
Commentator A: amazing piece of art. the soft romantic glow, the hands touching and the IDIC brooch Spock is wearing all conveys a sense of warmth and intimacy.
(a few days later, another fan tracks down a copy of the zine, after much begging and pleading, peeks at the story and sheepishly edits the commentary:
Commentator B: The glow around the character is a sign the character has been possessed by an alien. The touching hands are the beginning of a telepathic rescue effort, an attempt to wrest the alien from the character's mind. The IDIC brooch is a hidden message to the trapped friend that Spock is there in an official Starfleet capacity and that, if the rescue attempt fails, his friend must be prepared to be destroyed. Still, some fans find this scene romantic due to the soft focus and intimate positions of the characters.
The original commentary did not say exactly all of this (aka edited to make the humorous point) , but there was a disconnect between what we thought we were seeing and what was happening. And while I think it was funny, I can think of many fans who might be offended by the fact that someone attempted to comment on the art without reading the story. The fact that the story is in a 25 year old, out of print zine, that only 5 fans in the world still own, wouldn't matter. So add this to the list of intimidation factors: what if I get it wrong?