facebook and art censorship.

If your a fan of comic book art you’re probably aware of J. Scott Campbell already. If you’re not, then go check out his dA gallery! Do it right now - then come back and read this.

As I write this he is doing a “Too Hot for Facebook” event. Why you ask? Because his amazing art is being flagged as inappropriate and banned from facebook.

His art is available for purchase not only online, but also at comic book shops, book stores, pharmacies and grocery stores across North America (and no doubt elsewhere). However, apparently some of his artwork shows too much skin for the gentil world of facebook.

Rapunzel FF 2011 - [link]
Warlord of MARS 4 Dejah Thoris - [link]

In my opinion, there is nothing obscene about this artwork. This is nothing you can’t see on primetime TV or in a PG-13 movie. Heck, I’ve seen just as much skin in some friend’s vacation photos. Don’t you have to be 13 to sign up for facebook anyway? If you walk into an art gallery you can see full nudity and any age can get in.

What’s next? Banning his Spider-Man work because Peter Parker’s tights are a little too tight around the groin area? or maybe you can see his nipples through the spandex on a cold New York night?

This is the same facebook that allows applications that will tell you what kind of sexual lover you are, what sex position you should try or in which public place you should have sex. Porn stars and prostitutes have facebook pages, but this artwork is apparently too obscene.

Why should you care?

Right now this is just about Mr. Campbell. However, if you’re an artist like I am, then you ought to be concerned that this is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. This could develop into a disturbing trend of art censorship on facebook.

If you feel like doing so, I would encourage you to spread the word about this and even to contact facebook and express your concerns. Now it’s almost impossible to contact facebook via facebook (weird I know) but you can send them a quick tweet! twitter.com/facebook (@facebook).

Will they read them? I don’t know, but it only takes a few seconds. Artists need to support one another.

Cheers,
Matt

UPDATE! This Spider-Man cover has been deleted by facebook, and J.Scott Campbell was suspended for 30 days! This is ridiculous! Any child can buy a Spider-Man comic book!

[IMAGE LINK] http://j-scott-campbell.deviantart.com/#/d3arc52

Via: bleezer.deviantart.com

"Ars longa, vita brevis. Art is long, life is short."

- Unknown.

A lesson in everyday art at the MOA.

I visited the Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia this past weekend. Despite it’s location very near my residence, it was my first visit to this Vancouver jewel. If you appreciate anthropology, history and/or art, I highly recommend it. While it has exhibits from around the globe, the museum’s primary focus is on British Columbian and Canadian First Nations peoples.

I’m a big history buff, and while the First Nations people of Canada have a rich and diverse history, what always strikes me is the art. Simply put, it’s amazing.

Most of us in BC are familiar with First Nations art, it’s everywhere. The beautiful craftsmanship, colours and detail of the totem pole dot this land. Galleries and gift shops are filled with everything from masks, to carving, to prints, to massed produced coasters and t-shirts.

The art influences local graphic and logo design, sports teams uniforms, public mural and sculpture, and even the look of the Olympic Games. It’s a huge commercial industry. Some people feel it has become over used and gimmicky in the Vancouver lower mainland.

However, the art that fascinates me is not what you’d find in a Robson street boutique gallery or an YVR airport gift shop. The First Nations peoples of Canada had an appreciation for art and detail that permeates the mundane and everyday.

The amount of care, craftsmanship, tradition and detail was put into common items that we now take for granted is truly awe-inspiring. We live in a country with strong roots to the European tradition, so it’s easy for some us to slip into a modern euro-centric view of traditional art: paintings, photography, sculptures and etchings, neatly displayed in an almost sterile setting.

The First Nations peoples, however, mixed art with functionality and necessity. Beautiful weaving, beads and embroidery create a palette of colour on mats, baskets, hats, sweaters, parkas, pants, leggings, mittens, shoes and boots. Skilled carvings adorn house posts, simple tools, cutlery, bowls, combs, canoes, kayaks, and even weapons. Some of it tells a story, some a family history, others depicts the natural world around us. One thing all this art shares in common is the time and dedication that would put into crafting everything.

Pablo Picasso once said “art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life”. Centuries earlier, the First Nations people took that statement even further and mixed art with the everyday life. What would our world be like if art filled our everyday lives? If aesthetic, quality and craftsmanship were more important than speed, profit and fame? Perhaps here is a valuable lesson for western society, a mindset long forgotten.

"An artist needn’t be a clergyman or a churchwarden, but he certainly must have a warm heart for his fellow men."

- Vincent Van Gogh

"Art is Man’s nature. Nature is God’s art."

- James Bailey

Can Video Games Ever Be Art?

Can Video Games Ever Be Art? If you ask famed movie critic Roger Ebert, the answer is a resounding no. Why not? Let’s take a moment to critique the critic’s latest blog.

Ebert argues “No one in or out of the field has ever been able to cite a game worthy of comparison with the great poets, filmmakers, novelists and poets. To which I could have added painters, composers, and so on, but my point is clear.”

Link: http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2010/04/video_games_can_never_be_art.html

While this statement maybe true, it does not support his original argument – and that it “video games will never be art”. Before we continue, perhaps we should define just what “art” is. Not an easy task by any means, but one we will try to accomplish.