They fulfil a different role than doing great illustration - or maybe sometimes in addition to doing great illustration. I'm glad there are people who invest the time and the effort to talk to other artists in a compelling way, maybe teach some or share some of their experience. I love listening to many of them while I paint and I appreciate how much time and effort and charisma flows into making a good YouTube channel. It's just not the same as doing illustration and the two don't necessarily always go well together.
Hi. My topic is that new technologies today made easier and easier to have the "job done", and I see a lot of Artist with talent who, in my opinion, don't evolve (Talent is not enough, nor the most important thing). You see his work from 4 years ago and his work today and is the same. They are like a good baker who makes a delicious apple pie, is really good, but is always the same, and you start asking yourself if this baker knows how to do other cakes.
There's always has been artists who don't evolve, and some very well known and top sellers, because the regular client likes their work. But their originals, though expensive, are not even close to a Norman Rockwell or Frank Frazetta ones, because the collectors know what they are looking for better than the regular clients.
And I don't know if the technology boosts this issue or simply is that now every artist has access to the bigger galleries ever made (Instagram, etc), and we are simply watching a lot more than the before-internet era.
These new galleries bring new ways. One and most important change is that before, if you want to display your work you have to convince a "connoisseur", and the people that are going to see your work is people who go on purpose to the gallery because they are interested in art in the first place. Now the people who judge your work and "like it" are everyone. They don't have to be interested in art and take the time to go to a Gallery. And more significative, is that now the work is displayed in low size. Is like if someone who likes Rubens never went to a museum to watch the real deal, and only knows Rubens through small photographies of his work. This, I think, generates that if your work is going to be shown on internet, for example, and most of them watched from a small device like a mobile, the artists don't have to create great levels of quality, because no one is going to appreciate more than what Instagram can show.
But is not only in quality, in every aspect. For example, for me, one quality about illustration that differences it from other formats of art is that illustration tells a story. I consider that as an element that if is not there, is almost like is not an illustration anymore, is like near but not quite there. Is more like carácter design or something.
For example, "Little Girl With A Shiner" from Norman Rockwell. I watch the piece and I can say that:
-That little girl won the fight.
-The principla and her teacher don't know how to deal good with the problema and are about to call her parents.
-She is very relieved, like if that fight wasn't some "in the moment" thing. It was something that it was bothering her for some time. She holds herself some time, weeks or probably months until she finally exploded, and there you have that expression of satisfaction and relief.
-I can tell that her parents (that are not even in the frame.) are not on the strict side of the street. Because she is not worried about the consequences. Her Mother probably is going to send her to bed without cake that night and she is going to listen to a lot of educational "yaba daba" stuff but otherwise, she is going to be fine. Her dad probably teach her how to through a punch, just in case, you never know, and he is probably secretly proud of his little girl now.
And probably other persons have different lectures, but the important thing is that the illustration tells a story. You see present, past and future in that instant.
This is very important to me. Impressionist and abstract art brought to the table that the viewer went from being a simple spectator to become part of the art. The art is an idea, the piece of art are only the channel. And when the viewer has to work to understand more about what are watching, then is when art is happening.
For that, illustrations that shows a character in a pose and don't have a story to tell (that are so common today), is lack of one important thing. They are like selfies. Only shows how big the ego of the artist is. And we all have egos, but the more you control it the better.
I think Illustration has to serve a story. Illustration is for me "visual storytelling".
What are your thoughts about these?
And also, if you have some example of "visual storytelling" in your mind now, share with us here, please! I start with "Little Girl With A Shiner". You go next. We can learn a lot and create a very interesting thread.
