So I'm coming back to this topic after a break of a couple of weeks. I've been having a hard time deciding what to use in my "Bad Art That I Like" category -- not because I can't find tons, but because I consider most of it really good. So maybe it will help me if I try to define what I consider Bad Art, for the purposes of this blog.
1) Bad Art can not be "commercially" recognized as being Good Art. But since we've defined Good Art as "Fine" Art, does that mean that we can't recognize Comic Book Art? It's commercially successful (a lot of it) in terms of money, but most Comic Book Artists won't be considered "Fine" art because of the medium. What about this:
I may be wrong, but I believe this is oil on canvas.
Alex Ross is the artist, and his talent has re-defined the world of Comic Book Art.
OK, then if we say this, what about viral internet-based art? You know I love Girl Genius. Phil and Kaja Folio are superstars in my world. But they don't use oil & canvas, I think they're pen & ink artists. And while you can buy physical copies of their books, the comic is really meant for the internet. So... what? Look at this and tell me it isn't Damn Good Art:
Even if you don't like the subject matter, it's still really well done.
OK, let's leave the Comic Books alone for a minute. We'll allow that while they aren't Fine Art, they aren't Bad, either. I guess this has been more a rant about people thinking that Comic Art is not Good Art, so I'll wrap it up with this: Please go to the
CBLDF web page. Read about their mission. They say it better than I ever could. Don't think about it as "supporting comic books" (which isn't necessarily a bad thing to support, imho), but about defending the First Amendment. Free Speech belongs to everyone -- if we limit it in one area, we open the door to limit it everywhere. If you can, support them by becoming a member or sending a couple of bucks. They'll send you neato stuff if you do (not that that should be a reason), and it may make the difference between someone innocent going to jail or not, just because they couldn't afford decent legal representation.
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