As much as I respect Connie as a friend, we have to have this disagreement. To close one of the most vital conversations we have had with over a 1000 looks with a silly cartoon is not your finest hour.
That this kind of thing would have been considered, as well as proposed to the community of artists is absurd. That one person, of questionable taste, could promote himself as the arbiter of what is "qualified" to be art is also absurd.
But, the most absurd thing is that this conversation is closed. It is done. It is not to be considered in the future. That all words of worth have been posted are enough? That the discussion is over?
Sorry. That is not in the interest of the artists who live here.
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The latest posts on the Winter Park thread show that this certification insanity is not dead, it has just gone underground.
Okay -- you win. It seemed to me we had plumbed this discussion sufficiently, easy enough to put it back.
Have to say, I liked the cartoon.
Your account is welcome here, Holly, as I know of your passion for this business and your experience. Accounts are gone when they continuously ignore the code of conduct for this site and are full of meanness, which I feel has no place on this site.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropic_of_Cancer_(novel)
Henry Miller first published his masterpiece in France - 1934. It took nearly 30 years for the novel to be available here in the United States. As referenced in the Wiki site, this work is now considered to be a standard for the free speech we now take for granted in literature. Henry Miller was a thought leader ahead of his time.
The definition of "meanness" is as subjective as the quantification of Tropic of Cancer as pornographic. To imply that there is only one acceptable standard is a spurious as the assumption that artists need to be certified by committee of self appointed zealots.
Only with the liberty of free speech can we unveil the darkness of ignorance, predatory business practices, cronyism, and envy that pervade this industry. It is your choice Connie - you host a forum that celebrates the great diversity of opinion and passion among artists, or you have a vanilla site that caters to your advertisers and the thin skinned artists who cannot endure a difficult discussion. Nice is not always a virtue. Ignorance is a shame. Fostering ignorance through enforced silence is a moral crime.
Thanks for this post Bruce. The thing I'm thinking right now is we get inane cartoons when we get too close to the truth of the matter. TPB don't want artists talking about the problems going on here because we might get dangerously close to figuring some things out they don't want us to know. Pretty amazing what you see when the curtains get drawn back.... The really awful part - it's our livelihood and we are not allowed to openly discuss our concerns on this forum because of censorship. Great tool here that is going to waste. That is a tragedy.
*POOF* how long before my account is gone - again.