Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with art and artist

I want to forget about her, but she's famous now

Anonymous — Fri, 17 May 2013 10:43:17 -0800

I wish I could forget about the girl who broke my heart when I was a teenager, but it seems the world doesn't want to let me, because she's famous now, while I'm struggling. How do I deal? Apologies in advance for the novella-length question, but with any luck there's enough angst within to keep you engaged. Anyhow, here's my tale of woe:

I am a 28-year-old man. Back when I was 12, I met a girl and fell for her hard. It was my first love. We had similar personalities and interests and creative drives. We were close friends for years, and she often confided in me and showed me affection, but she never wanted to be my girlfriend.

In my adolescent naivete, I thought that if I remained her loyal friend, she'd eventually decide she wanted to be with me and not the guys she was dating. But that never happened, and while we had some good times together, I remember our friendship primarily as a source of crushing disappointment and depression over the next 6 years. By the end of high school I was tired of feeling used and miserable, we had a falling out, and we haven't spoken since. Looking back now, I wish I had done a lot of things differently, spent my time on something more productive, and saved us both a bunch of drama and anguish, but I was a kid and didn't know better.

It's been 10 years since then, and I have grown and improved myself immensely. I've been in a great relationship with a wonderful, beautiful woman for the past 4 years, and we're very much in love. I'm very confident and happy with myself these days. But one of my primary aspirations remains, as it was when I was a teenager, to achieve recognition and success as an artist. (I was into acting back then -- I make music now -- but it's the same desire. I need to create and I need an audience.) And while I've managed to find a day job that pays the rent and gives me free time to work on my music; and while I've produced some material which I'm extremely proud of; I haven't built much of a following or a career to speak of, even though I've been trying for years and I feel strongly that my work merits it. And that's very frustrating, but I'm still young and talented, so there's nothing to do but to keep working.

But here's the stinger: The girl I was so heartbroken over back in high school, who I would be happy to never think about again, is well on her way to becoming a celebrity. And every so often, and I fear with increasing frequency, she intrudes into my life in various ways. I see articles and photos of her on web sites that I read; internet strangers discussing her talent and charm; mutual acquaintances assuming I want to chat about her latest doings; people digging out old photos to prove that they knew her (which photos might have me in them too, but who cares because I'm just some guy); etc.

This causes me some anguish. While I've matured and improved so much since high school, and hearing about her doesn't affect me as much as it used to, each time I do it re-opens those old wounds a bit. This is a person whom I associate with a lot of painful memories and negative thoughts about myself. And whenever I hear about her, it's about how successful she is in pretty much the way I am trying to be, but am not. Living well is supposed to be the best revenge, and I've lived very well; but when I hear about her I feel like she's lived even better, and I'll never catch up. And it seems like there's no way I can avoid hearing about her.

So my question, such as it is: What strategies can I use to try and cope with this situation productively? I know I shouldn't compare myself to anyone else; it's been a long time and I should move on; I should let go of my resentment. I wish that I could. I don't like to talk about this with people I know because I feel like it's such an old, tired story already. I doubt she's thought about me in years. I have this idea in my mind that I'll be able to truly let go only once I achieve a level of fame that causes my name to barge in on her world the way hers does on mine, which would somehow amount to vindication. I hate that she can still get to me from a distance without even trying, and there's nothing I can do about it. Sometimes that thought motivates me to work harder; I've written some truly excellent songs inspired by all these feelings. But when those songs don't make me famous overnight, it's like twisting the knife, so that source of motivation can be a double-edged sword.

Sometimes it feels like I'm living inside a script, like the universe is playing a prank on me, and I'm the only one who can see the whole narrative and appreciate it. I try to find the humor in all of it, but it's not easy.

Finally, a note on therapy: I've done it at several points over the years, including quite recently, and have discussed these issues at length. It's been a little bit helpful, but the basic issues remain. I may get back into therapy in the future, but I'm between health insurance situations at the moment, so that's not going to be an immediate solution.

I know there's no simple solution, but I'd appreciate any wisdom you have to offer.

Do artists often get scammed into projects?

picklenickle — Fri, 03 May 2013 14:45:18 -0800

When I get an email from someone asking if I'm interested in doing a big long-term project, how do I know if they're legit or if it's something worth my time and effort? So I've always been a small-time digital artist doing personal commissions as they come, usually by people I know or individual strangers over email. Usually the commissions are just one or two pictures and I have a nice system to prevent fraud and such.

But recently I did a little side project that got a lot of attention, and now I'm getting emails from people asking if I'm interested in doing large paid projects, like illustrations for books and graphic novels and such. They would presumably be temporary projects but that require a lot of full-time work. I've never had experience doing anything like this. Do artists often get scammed into doing stuff only to never see a penny? I ask this because, when doing those little individual commissions, there have been times when I'll explain to my client how I work (I send them sketches, and then a full picture with a watermark and don't send them the un-watermarked image until they pay me), and sometimes they'll lose interest after hearing that, presumably because they were planning on taking the picture and not paying.

So, when I get an email from someone saying "Hey I saw your art and really liked it. I need an artist for [some big, long-term project]. Are you interested?" how do I know if they're legit or if it's something worth my time and effort?

Commissioned original art, art may not be original. Help?

Anonymous — Fri, 03 May 2013 09:43:21 -0800

I work for a non-profit organization. We applied for, and received, a grant to commission original artwork for our building. We chose an artist who proposed a mural. The contract is signed with the agency that is providing the grant, and work is set to start on the building soon. Problem is? One of the members of the Board found a very similar mural online, painted by a different person. Help. We commissioned a mural in a very specific artistic style. For the sake of argument, let's say in the style of this WPA mural. Instantly recognizable, but very suitable for our building and our non-profit's mission. The artist who won the commission did so by proposing a mural of, oh let's say a man standing in front of a local landmark, carrying a shovel. Great. We were thrilled. It's perfect.

Today, one of the Board members found a picture online that made my heart sink. It is of a man standing in front of a building that kind of looks like our landmark, carrying a shovel. He's standing in the same position and holding the shovel in exactly the same way. His hands are cocked just so, the way his jacket is waving in the wind is exactly the same.

There are differences: his clothes are a different style. He is a young man in our picture, and an old man in the one on the internet. Our mural has the local landmark in the background, the background of the one on the internet has some basic shapes that are very similar to our landmark. The style - the very specific artistic style - is so similar that it could have been done by students of the same teacher.

Some more info:

I don't know where the internet picture came from. I don't know if it is original to the era or if it is a modern interpretation.

It's not really a shovel that the person in our mural/our online doppelganger is holding; but it is a common-ish object that looks exactly the same in both. The way the object is being held by the hands, the tilt, the colors, the shading, everything.

The grant is being administered through a third party. The contract has either just been signed or it is about to be signed. Like, TOMORROW.

If we do not go with these artists, we forfeit the grant. The date for having a contract signed is May 31st, and we do not have the time to re-open the search. We did not even have a second- or third-place choice, we were so enamored with this one.

Question time:

I've contacted the members of the Board, but none of us are artists. I worry that we won't know what is "inspired by" and what is "ripped off".

What should we do?

Is it common for artists to be inspired by a historic work to the point that they're similar enough for an artistic dunce like me to see the similarities? There are more than a few WPA murals and murals in the style of the WPA of men with shovels. But this one is so dead on exact that it makes me wonder.

Can one break a contract over this? I know you haven't seen the contract, but would this sort of falsehood be grounds for dismissal?

I'd love to hear from people who work in the arts. I don't want an obvious ripoff on the wall. Time is running out, and I can't decide what to do. Help.

If you have specific questions or want to see pictures of the actual artwork (the proposed mural and the one online), please let me know at helpmemetafilter@gmail.com.

(Really, nobody's taken that name before now?)

What music should I try on Spotify?

jsturgill — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 09:39:39 -0800

What bands and albums should I listen to now that I'm finally able to stream almost anything ever made? Extended information as to my taste preferences inside. I like strings, particularly violin and cello, particularly in a rock or folk/southern/bluegrass context but also in modern compositions.

I like noisy music, such as the Velvet Underground and Neutral Milk Hotel.

I like grating vocals that are borderling a-musical but that very much work--the above two bands, the Decemberists, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Leonard Cohen, etc.

I like talk-singing, like in Mother Country by John Stewart and $87 and a Gulity Conscience by Richmond Fontaine.

I also like clear voices from talented singers, mostly often women. Joni Mitchell, for example, or the amazing Laura Gibson. It helps if they are strong lyricists.

I would love to find smaller bands, current or past, with interesting sounds and/or stories that I could get obsessive over, like Tim Hardin or Munly.

Question about artistic skills

Brandon Blatcher — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 08:42:38 -0800

There are some people who are excellent draftsmen when it comes to drawing. Their sketchbooks are full of architecture style drawings or similar, with straight lines as if drawn using a ruler and little erasing. Or they're sign painters or car details who can just pick up a brush and literally draw a straight line on the car as they're walking the length of it. No visual planning or measuring or masking off areas, they just do it. Are there scientific studies about the particular set of physical and mental skills these people have and what exactly those skills are? Are their specific differences in their brain or anatomy that enable those skills?

How do they do that? Learning about drawing and illustration...

jrobin276 — Sat, 10 Nov 2012 18:01:18 -0800

How do they do that? Artist edition... Please recommend how-to's and how I do this blogs/videos etc... I have a BFA in Photography, but am increasingly interested in drawing and illustration. I took some drawing classes years ago, and was pretty ok at it, especially since I was starting from scratch (almost no experience) and it wasn't my major.

I would LOVE recommendations of blogs, posts, articles, interviews, videos (magazines/books ok too) etc... that demonstrate different techniques or materials, that show the progression of a piece from start to finish, etc... in short, that demystify a bit "how they do that"! Not about copying - this is part educational (so online classes/tutorials might be ok), and almost entirely about making myself feel like this is something humans (ie me) can do (with lots of practice). Right now a lot of it seems like magic...

Not really interested in tours of artists' studios, but descriptions of how they work are welcome too... methods, ruts and how they get out, finding inspiration, etc. (example: I like going on long drives or walks to collect ideas. I take the pictures, make hard copies, and lay them out all over the floor like tiles - usually until the wee hours of the morning while drinking coffee and listening to Trip-Hop. I will re-work things over and over, over months; sometimes years.... etc.)

PS: No Bob Ross! ;)

Grotesque Paintings of Talking Penises

StopMakingSense — Mon, 08 Oct 2012 14:06:02 -0800

On a deadline: Help me find the name of an amazing, bizarre, crude, disgusting artist whose childish paintings of people in extreme situations surrounded by thought/speech balloons/bubbles I saw in a Lower East Side gallery around 2010-2011. So, I stumbled into an LES Gallery sometime in the last two years (maybe near Orchard? Broome? No idea.) and there was this amazing exhibit of these fairly large paintings done in a crude, childish style. The main thing that tied them all together was the use of word balloons (thought bubbles?) that came from both the characters themselves, but also their genitals, guns, asses and various inanimate objects.

The scenes depicted tended to be orgies or gunfights or over-the-top flop houses. He also, I think, had a not-exactly-clear but definitely passionate relationship with hip-hop culture.

99% sure the artist was a man. 75% sure he wasn't American.

One painting I remember in particular had a long-haired, bearded mass shooter. There were lots of thought bubbles coming from his head ("I'm sorry!" "I'm under mind control!") and his gun. Also, from his victims off-panel ("Help me!" "I'm dying!").

It looked sort of like the work of Erik Tildemann, but I don't think it was him because I can't find any trace or reference to these thought balloons, but I can't be totally sure.

Would love it if anyone could send me in the right direction. I've come up with nothing so far.

Looking for a book recommendation that combines art and philosophy

Chichibio — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 06:50:26 -0800

Students of art, lovers of philosophy, can you recommend a book I can buy as a gift for a friend? I'm looking to buy a very good friend of mine a book for his upcoming birthday, but I'm having a hard time deciding which one.

Here are two salient facts:

1) He's an artist, and reads philosophical books in his spare time. He has most likely read all the standard dudes that get thrown about at art school, i.e. the Frankfurt School, all the French folks since Satre like Derrida, Deleuze, Foucault, Lyotard, etc. I know for a fact that he's reading Badiou right now.

So I think a philosophy text would be great, but it doesn't have to be specifically about aesthetics or art appreciation (a la Danto).

2) My friend explained to me that he reads philosophy like one would a novel, so I'd like to buy something fresh and engagingly-written. It's not like he understands set theory, so I think he's breezing by those bits and hunting for delicious turns of phrase.

fryman's suggestion of Quentin Meillassoux is intriguing but it doesn't really click to me. I would prefer getting something that has been published in the last ten years or so, but don't hold back if you have better suggestions from the 20th century.

As always, thank you Ask!

Finding a side-career as an occasional artist

hellojed — Sat, 02 Jun 2012 13:45:23 -0800

How do I find work as an illustrator / artist? I've been drawing for years and people think I'm good enough to ask me for the occasional commission / spot illustration. I'd like for this to happen more often, and maybe get paid now and then. I have realistic expectations about being an artist, I have a solid backup job/career to support me financially. I am almost used to rejection.

I've been asked to do artwork before, mostly commissions (paid or otherwise). I don't actively look for gigs because I don't really know how.

I'd like to get more illustration work, and I don't know where to look. I'd like to make stuff for publications, spot illustrations, and other things. I have no idea how this is done.

How can I best advertise my work, and willingness to work?
Who should I send my portfolio to?
How do I find these people?
Do places like the New York Times and The New Yorker just take unsolicited submissions that I can just spam?

MeMail me if you'd like to see my work.

Profiles of Artistic Courage

chara — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 13:21:28 -0800

Do you know of any good art and/or documentary blogs that profile artists or filmmakers? I'm interested in creating one myself, for local and national artists, and I'm looking for ideas and inspiration.

Encyclopedia Green and the Case of the Perplexing Painters

jph — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 14:16:56 -0800

Help me track down some mystery artists! Vague memories within! A few years ago (2008, 2009?), at the Rittenhouse Art Festival, I ran across a couple artists whose style blew me away. I grabbed their cards, and vowed that someday I would purchase art from them. Then I promptly moved across the country and lost the cards in the move. I have tried a bunch of random Googling, but with fairly vague memories like these, I'm striking out left and right. I'd really love to track these artists down, and I've always been amazed at what you all can do with scant detail.

Artist one: An Asian(?) woman who specialized in still life paintings. Here's the catch: they were spectacularly precise. They were so crisp and clean they looked like photographs. In fact, I thought they were photographs and was kind of generally unimpressed until I got up close and realized that they were oil paintings.

Artist two: A man(?) who painted on rather large canvases. They were mostly remarkable for their size and for the artist's style. Imagine, if you will, that you're walking down a city street in some mega-urban environment, squinting, in the rain, at night. Fuzzy circles in various colors, like lights, float mysteriously on dark backgrounds in blues, greys and blacks.

Do your best, MetaFilter!

Name of performance artist who photographed herself in disguises?

cymru_j — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 11:46:20 -0800

Trying to recall the name of a performance artist/photographer. She used disguises (prep, ghetto, etc.) to pass as a member of various in-groups. Then she photographed herself socializing in these groups. Is that ringing a bell? I believe she did this project, oh, 9 or 10 years ago? I'm guessing she was in her 20s then.

Thanks in advance, hive memory!

Contemporary art and performing arts in Japan

kitsuloukos — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 20:45:29 -0800

Contemporary art and performing arts in Japan? I will be living in Tokyo for about 4 months soon. I plan on checking out the arts and performing arts (theater, dance) contemporary/emerging/experimental/however-you-want-to-call-it scene. Any recommendations? I'm mainly into theater (ANY kind, I'm very curious, that's why I'm traveling), but would be super interested to see dance, contemporary art, architecture, design, music, etc.

I'm asking more about the contemporary stuff since I'm guessing the traditional I'll know where to find by looking at travel guides and what not.

So, any venue/company/show/artist/festival suggestion? Pretty much all the artists I know are those that came to the FTA in Montreal...

THANKS!! :)

How do you track & use ideas from your previous sketch books, journals & diaries?

ooklah — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 12:43:21 -0800

For those that keep a journal/diary/sketch book: When you start a new book, how do you continue to track and use the good ideas and projects in your old books that you'd like to pursue? I regularly keep a book that holds my thoughts, daily summaries, ideas, meeting notes, sketches, etc. I'd like to come up with a system or work flow that helps me get the most out of my books and prevents me for losing good ideas. Keeping all of these out on my desk is slightly impractical.

Anyone out there ever digitize and catalog a large number of books like this? (I have 25 or so) IF so, how did you deal with the digitized info?

Lastly, if anyone would like to share pointers on their personal method for journaling and marking up your books to keep track of items, I'd appreciate your insight, links and collective wisdom. Thanks!

I don't need to make a cow-dung Madonna, I do need to get over my fear of making something that someone won't like.

Anonymous — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 09:25:44 -0800

I want to move on and grow and get better, but I feel like I'm at the foot of Everest. Help me not hate my art. How can I find the courage to make the art that I need to make in order to feel fulfilled and honest in my work? I am a full time artist of sorts. I won't go into too much detail about what I do because I'd rather keep this as anonymous as possible. I mean, it's hard for me to write about this topic, and even journaling about it on my own elicits waves of shame.

So, here's the thing. I've been putting my work out there for about four years now and at the risk of sounding like an ass I will just say that I've gotten consistently positive feedback, but even without that (or maybe I should say despite that), I know that I'm good at what I do, and I love doing what I do - none of these are the issue. The issue is that I hate the actual work I'm putting out, and feel I have a pattern of making art that is too safe, too blah, and then resenting and judging, (or just getting depressed and feeling jealous of), other artists who are doing more interesting, challenging work because I know I have it in me to make more honest, less self-conscious art.

I currently have a decent amount of what I do out there, searchable on the web, and I have this awful, horrible feeling when I think of the impression people might get from what they find when they search me. I don't feel that it reflects me. My self-consciousness and fear of judgment is something that seeps into my work all the time, and I often make choices that will give me a "nice" result rather than something real and raw, even though the latter is the kind of thing that speaks to me more and "nice" makes me cringe. Oh, how I am always cringing!

I guess what I create does reflect what's going on inside of me in some way, in the sense that I am dealing with a lot of fear, but it doesn't reflect my true state if you know what I mean.

I have had some issues with anxiety and saw a psychotherapist a couple of years ago which helped a lot. I don't feel the urgent need for therapy right now, and because it's expensive and I don't have insurance I am leaving it as a last resort. I have a pretty good handle on the anxiety issues that were plaguing me before and feel like I'm stable and generally happy. The only thing that seems to be bothering me these days is this "I hate my art" thing I've got going on.

What I would like to do is spend some time concentrating solely on creating a new body of work, working on a new process maybe, and removing myself from the insipid work I've done in the past.

How do I take those first steps toward being the new, fearless me?
Do other artists experience this sort of thing?

Any words of advice would be enormously appreciated.

tl;dr

As a full time artist, how do I deal with panicked moments of, "I suck and I hate my art and none of it represents me at all, it's all just arbitrary stuff that I've absorbed and unconsciously regurgitated in a contrived way, and it comes out racked with hesitation and fear. It might be soothing but that's only because it's as boring as a fish tank screensaver. I can't get my shit together to make something cohesive, and I don't feel good about anything I've done… except for maybe that piece, and that other one, but that's it!" and the general feeling that I'm not being honest in my work.

throwaway email: artisfrightening @ gmail . com

How to find a cheap/free boardgame artist

Cogentesque — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 02:21:10 -0800

How do I find an artist or Graphic Designer to do some pieces for a boardgame I am designing for cheap or free. Or am I doomed? So I am finally getting on with designing my awesome boardgame (card game) I will be launching in to kick starter when I can, but before I get very far I will need the help of an artist or graphic designer: ideally an Art Major / University Student.

Problem: I have no to little money. Ideally the artwork for the cards and the box cover would be for a portfolio piece for the respective student. But I Do Not want to "get one over" someone and take for free what should be fairly paid for.

What do I do in respect to finding a willing artist that would happily work for little money or free without being a bastard - or is my quest doomed?

Over and Over Again

Unred — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 05:45:27 -0800

Who and what are some examples of artists who painted or created the exact same thing every day? I know there's a few, but Google is showing me much too broad of results. Thanks!

Please help identify this painting

Corpsegoddess — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 22:22:05 -0800

This is a screencap from an episode of the "Ray Bradbury Theater" series from the 1980's. I tried using the Google Goggles app on my phone, both with the picture on my TV and on my computer monitor, but it can't scan it all the way. When it does come close, it can identify it as some sort of iconography, but that's it. Does anybody have any idea who the artist might be, or the title of the painting itself?

how can i commission a little painting?

andreapandrea — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 17:11:59 -0800

my friend has a photo (not this one, but one that's similar in that there are lots of different characters doing zany things) that she wants turned into a mini painting. etsy alchemy is 'being phased out,' apparently. how could she find an artist who is willing to paint this for her? do you know where she could find an artist, or forums of artists who would want to take a commission for work like this?

is there anything in particular she should keep in mind when commissioning this work?

we're in montreal, if it matters, but obviously the power of the internets makes this just an incidental.

thank you, wonderful hive.

Hiring custom artist for a card game?

symbioid — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 12:32:36 -0800

I'm designing a card game and I have most of my own art for prototyping, but eventually want *real* art. I have no place where to look for such a thing or how much it would cost. Does anyone have any ideas on what sort of going rate such a thing would cost? Do you pay by the hour? Any tips are greatly appreciated.

Help identifying a painting.

Bighappyfunhouse — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 13:59:52 -0800

Need some help identifying a painting. Might be an artist from the Seattle area. No signature, but there is an ink stamp on the frame from Daniel Smith Artists Materials in Seattle Wa. Oil on canvas. Looks to be maybe 20 years old. Anyone recognize the artist? Thanks!

Can you help a British artist choose his database software?

Chichibio — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 04:02:06 -0800

Do you have any experience working with art gallery-specific database systems? I'd love some advice on choosing the right software to help organize a mid-career artist and his sprawling archive. I've just started a partnership with an established artist on a specific project. I was brought into the fold via a mutual friend who was recently hired as the artist's admin, and she has the formidable task of organizing years and years of this guy's back catalog. Contacts, editions, fabrication tracking, client lists... so far everything has been run on the proverbial wing and prayer, but now that we're on board its been decided that a revamp is in order.

The artist wants to install a LAN in his Mac-based studio, and have us share access to some central database software that can keep track of all the relevant info. The problem is that none of us have used off-the-rack art gallery software before, and now we're paralyzed by the choice. We have no consistent IT support, so we want a package that will do it all for us instead of having to build our own.

So far we've found three promising database systems:

Artsystems Studio looks like the most relevant to our needs (it's also the least expensive) but would require us to run it through XP. They claim a native Mac version is on the way, but we don't really want to wait.

Artlogic has the benefit of being a British-based company, but it's a cloud-based database, with all the attendant pros and cons.

EmbARK is apparently the go-to DB for heavy-duty museums, which might be overkill for our needs.

All three systems have impressive client lists, making it hard to differentiate utility by reputation. Have you used one of these databases and are able to sing its praises/deficiencies? Are we exaggerating the problems of running Windows software through a Mac, or using cloud databases? Is there another DB that would provide a better option? This previous question does have some relevant answers (including Artbase which I'll have to look into) but I'm hoping for some opinions on the programs listed above.

All hail the hive mind in its infinite wisdom!

I love this artist! If only I knew who it was...

KiddAnnica — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 01:16:08 -0800

Artist trivia time! I love this painting! Does anyone know who the artist is? It's a painting with a sculpture of similarly-shaped heads next to it...but I just saw it randomly online and haven't the first clue of who it might be. Has anyone seen anything like it before? (other than on Easter Island)

"Art"

mnemonic — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 18:15:05 -0800

What art do people cite to make fun of art? A five-year-old could do that / It's a colored square / Looks like an accident / So the artist left his garbage here

Which art usually provokes comments like these?

Also, about seven years ago, I saw a piece at the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. that appeared to be a completely blank canvas, about 5' square. It did have an info placard and did appear to be an actual piece, not a placeholder for something else... though it may have been. Does anyone know who the artist might have been? If I'm remembering this right, which I may not be.

Need help identifying an artist

rabbitrabbit — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 19:53:25 -0800

Who painted this picture?