I get so tired of visiting various movie and TV show fan message boards, checking out the forums, seeing a thread someone posts plugging their artwork and have it turn out to be nothing more then a collection of photos slapped together with imaging software. This isen't like photography in which you're creating your own work but instead just using photos everyone's already seen and simply mixing them together. I guess I take it a bit too personally since I create all my artwork from scratch.

I just felt like venting.

Good point Rsine. I don't visit those sites, but I know what you're talking about. I guess art is in the eye of the beholder and there are many variants of them.

Traditional art, created from the mind and hand of the artist is what most people think of when the word 'art' comes up. There is a growing trend of digital art which in the computer industry is essential and popular and does take similar traditional skills and knowledge bases and apply them electronically.

Collages of photos, as you've mentioned, can also have their place in the art world. Its all such a subjective issue. My only concern with that element of art would be the copyright issues and if the person creating the collages has the permission of the individuals to use those images and recreate them under his/her own name.

Digital art and photo manipulation is a skilled artform just as much as a conventional pieces of work.. infact i would say it was more skilled than some media.

Any one can pick up a pencil and draw a shape on a piece of paper but with digital art you have to learn how to use the software first. with most designs its all planned out first using the conventional way with pencil and paper.. its just extending the picture onto a computor.. some digital art takes far more time than conventional art with alot more stress added to it so it makes the end result so much more worthwhile.. we will always have conventional art

Well I 've seen a few photo montages that are true works of art but most of them consists of just photos combined together and nothing more that anyone can do with the right imaging software. As for copyright issues, it depends. Universal which owns the rights to Xena don't seem to care as long as the person making them isn't making any money from it while I believe Twentieth Century Fox and Paramount has closed several fan run sites for using images from their films and shows without their approval.

I've seen a couple of them too that are good art pieces in their own right. But viewing them in the medium in which they were created doesn't appeal to me. My mind keeps thinking that I could just go to Google Image find the same photos, cut, paste and display. How hard is that. Seeing them put into oversized prints and displayed in an actual Gallery or on a wall, can really end up being some impressive artwork.

Speaking of that, I'm off to Guggenheimer tomorrow in Venice.
Eric

I agree anyone can pick up a pencil and draw a shape...same as anyone can use the software to make a digital picture .. both are creative ....but you must be good at what you are doing ..in my opinion I think conventional art is harder .. cause not everyone can draw something and make it look nice ...with digital its much easier to learn how to use a program and produce nice pictures .. my husband being a great example .. he is very good with digital...Photoshop .. PSP .. all kinds of programs .. but he is in awe every time I log on to this site and sees what people can do with a simple sheet of paper and pencil .

Thats a good point! Relating this to photography, I have seen many amatuers with expensive cameras who don't understand what an F/stop is nor how to load film onto a cartridge for developing and yet their wonder boxes are able to pull off some crisp highly detailed images. Because the box has all the technowizardry built into it on a chip to compare scenes at hundreds of a second. Like wise, software has numerous tools already built in that the interface (mouse and finger tips) only have to know how to point and click and walla! and embossed effect or charcoal simulation presto fantastico.

I kinda fall into one of these, as I have not experimented enough with different mediums or should I say newer mediums. Or a simple thing as to what grades of pencils to use? I think your right Kim in that a blank piece of paper and pencil leaves many people bewildered, whereas something with blinking swirling lights and effects intrigues them and they learn through a trial and error process. Trial and error in the traditional sense begins the moment the pencil stikes the paper, and that separates the goats from the cheese! I have looked throught your gallery of work and all I can say is Whoa! Where do you find models to pose like that?

Not that I haven't noticed...but it seems to be the women here who are the real drawers, and the men the complainers or newbies (Like me). My hats off to the girls of this site! They can really put carbon to bark.

Thank you ONSOURCE for the compliment ...its hard to find people who veiw art the same ....oh and women are better at everything ...didnt you know that ? lol I am only teasing .. thank you again .
Kim

I’m not sure that a creation has to be difficult to produce or take a long time to create to be artful. In the 60’s pop art and op art were new forms of expression. People like Andy Warhol repeatedly used popular images and experimented with optical illusions. Even though it was not particularly hard to do, no one else had thought to do it. Jasper Johns made a sculpture of two beer cans that sold for a million dollars (but some say he did it as a joke). Art is expression and experimentation.

Jim B.

I dont think it has to be hard .. just creative .. sometimes things come easy for some people and hard for others.