Can You Separate the Art from the Artist? - Draftsmen S2E20
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lesson video
Can You Separate the Art from the Artist? - Draftsmen S2E20
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Neo
Pardon if this is something that was already discussed in newer episodes, I'm going through each in order and I'm sure by the end of everything I would've forgotten about the things I thought about on the way so here goes: What if the artist of bad actions is from the present day? I feel this is much more complex than people from the past because even just mentioning their name is potentially boosting their career and enabling them to do more harm. In the past few years this discussion has been hot, many skilled and popular artists have turned out to be terrible people and have shown no signs of remorse or will to better themselves. Emphasis on how they handled the aftermath, because we all make mistakes or even do terrible things, but I'd like to think most people feel terrible about it and want to improve themselves. So focusing on the cases that have made it clear that they are irredeemable people for now. My personal take on this is that it's still possible, but it must be done very carefully to avoid further boosting their success. Knowing how internet works is cruical and it may be impossible to take into account everything. With everything being about views now, even clicking the links to see the content to learn from will boost them. So do following on social media because the platforms highlight you're following someone and advertise it to more people. And of course the obvious is to not purchase any of their paid content. That being said, piracy may sometimes be the ethical solution in this kind of cases. I do also believe that the actual craft is better learned from past artists and teachers of today who are good people, there is no shortage. But these present day bad artists may still have something to offer in how they became successful on the modern platforms, perhaps even give a feeling of relief to learn that their success is probably not because they are a terrible person. It's best to not get too invested though, for the sake of your own sanity.
LESSON NOTES

Stan and Marshall respond to an artist’s tweet who asks if it’s possible to learn from artists who have talent, but are terrible people. Can you separate the art from the artist?

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References and books

(some contain affiliate links)

Slack
Adopting Art Parents to Develop Your Style
Joker
Justin Chang and Lorraine Ali conversation on disgraced Hollywood figures
Dwight Schrute
Andrew Loomis Fun with a Pencil
People's History of The United States By Howard Zinn
The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas by Ursula K le Guin

Referenced Artists:

Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin

gauguin artwork

Picasso

picasso femmes dalger crop

Knight Zhang

knight zhang artwork
COMMENTS
Stan Prokopenko
Marshall and I tackle the difficult question “is it possible to learn from an artist that is a terrible person?”
Newest
4yr
Pardon if this is something that was already discussed in newer episodes, I'm going through each in order and I'm sure by the end of everything I would've forgotten about the things I thought about on the way so here goes: What if the artist of bad actions is from the present day? I feel this is much more complex than people from the past because even just mentioning their name is potentially boosting their career and enabling them to do more harm. In the past few years this discussion has been hot, many skilled and popular artists have turned out to be terrible people and have shown no signs of remorse or will to better themselves. Emphasis on how they handled the aftermath, because we all make mistakes or even do terrible things, but I'd like to think most people feel terrible about it and want to improve themselves. So focusing on the cases that have made it clear that they are irredeemable people for now. My personal take on this is that it's still possible, but it must be done very carefully to avoid further boosting their success. Knowing how internet works is cruical and it may be impossible to take into account everything. With everything being about views now, even clicking the links to see the content to learn from will boost them. So do following on social media because the platforms highlight you're following someone and advertise it to more people. And of course the obvious is to not purchase any of their paid content. That being said, piracy may sometimes be the ethical solution in this kind of cases. I do also believe that the actual craft is better learned from past artists and teachers of today who are good people, there is no shortage. But these present day bad artists may still have something to offer in how they became successful on the modern platforms, perhaps even give a feeling of relief to learn that their success is probably not because they are a terrible person. It's best to not get too invested though, for the sake of your own sanity.
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