Wow. There is so much BAD art on dA. There is just so much crap that most of it belongs in the scraps. Isn't it just suffocating all the amazing and good talent? It just makes it so freakin' hard to browse through this site that there's no point in browsing at all anymore!! Why bother? Everything, especially in the photography gallery, is just such crap and so offensive to the artistic sensibilities that it's just not worth looking at. We should just scrap it all! Or better yet!! Delete and ban these stupid people!!!


Wow. I so don't agree. Oh my god... I couldn't disagree more and quite honestly, I'm getting pretty tired of the argument. Yes, there is a lot of "bad" work on deviantArt, and you know what? I hope there always is. There is practically NOBODY on this site that is qualified to be an art critic, and those that are appreciate the fact that not everyone is a rockstar when they first pick up a camera.. or a pencil.. or a paintbrush.. or first get their hands on Photoshop or Maya or whatever.

Just to get this out of the way, sure.. there's people that abuse the privileges of a site that has minimal posting requirements and use it as a dating site, or use it as they would flickr or myspace. Yes, there are those people. Yes, it is difficult to for others with artistic inclinations to look at those deviations with anything but resentment. But the problem is that the more we focus on those people the more we become disenchanted, the more we become critical in an unhealthy way. How do you discern between someone that posts a shitty snapshot of themselves that would be more appropriate on myspace and someone that just picked up a camera for the first time and are trying to do something important?

It seems so easy to call work we don't like "bad art". It is so easy to just sit there and rule someone out as a "hack" and tell them their work doesn't belong on an ART site. But you know what? Fuck that. We have to be more open-minded. We have to put aside all the pretentious bullshit that makes us think we are better than some. You can tell if someone has artistic intent or not. And if they do, then they belong on this site just as much as anyone. The posers that choose not to produce art or ever grow because of their own issues will be dealt with in one way or another. But we have to be careful that budding artists are not caught in the crossfire.

You know why I do photography? Because when I stumbled on deviantArt, I saw a lot of people that weren't very good. They were just starting out. They were just young girls, like me, taking photos of themselves in their bedrooms with the family point-and-shoot. I saw that photography belongs to ALL people and not just those that can afford expensive toys and a studio. I picked up a camera because I saw a community that didn't ostracize those that were just beginning to learn. For the first time I knew I could do photography.. and I knew that I could learn from the community. We all start somewhere.

All that matters is artistic INTENT. Sometimes, the execution is a moot point. All that matters is that someone is trying.. trying to create art.. trying to learn.. trying to get better even when in the beginning they aren't very good at all. We need to support these people.

I'm going start to do something and I hope you join me. Every week, I will find two or three deviations and give them advice and support. I know a lot of people hesitate to critique because when they do the, "artist" will sometimes tell them to shove that advice where the sun don't shine. So what? At least then you, and everyone else who reads comments, knows that this person isn't trying. But I promise, you will also find a lot of artists who are genuinely grateful for your support and who benefit from it.


Ok.. hehe i'm stepping off my soapbox now. Just as an aside, I want you guys to know how much I appreciate you putting up with me and my rants. I know that many of you actually have the amazing patience to read through my long-winded journals and it makes me feel so good and special that you would. Sometimes (like now) i just need to get something off my chest and there is no better feeling in the world than knowing someone is there listening to the insanity that goes on in my head. This is why you guys are so damn amazing that I treasure you more than you'll ever know :smooches:


Kat

Current Events - Get Involved!
Portfolios - Have you guys heard of this new feature? Read about it here
Spring Events - Learn about Get Sprung
The latest Artist Relations Newsletter to get up to date with all the latest happenings on dA - Artist Relations Newsletter - March 19, 2008

GENERAL REFERENCES
The Artist Relations Team - Find out who to send DD suggestions to, who to contact for specific gallery questions/needs, and just in general who is here to help you in your dA experience.
DeviantLink for Firefox
deviantMessage
DOF Tutorial from the wonderful ~photo-class
Glossary of Common Photography Terms - Quick reference quide
Model/Property Release Forms - Some very generic (but really detailed) model forms. Worth a look.


DD Suggestions
If you want to suggest a DD for the Horror and Macabre Photography gallery, just send me a note.
The only rules are as follows:
Send note with the subject line - "DD Suggestion".
Provide artist name and thumbnail link to suggested deviation.
If you really believe in the piece, tell me why so I can believe too
Only deviants who have not had a DD in the last 3 months will be chosen.