Comic Discussion > QUESTIONABLE CONTENT
Jeph on fan commentary
DSL:
It is possible to disagree with, or even be repulsed by, the viewpoint espoused in a particular piece of work, or by a character in said piece of work, and still judge how effectively the viewpoint is espoused, or the context reflected. Those criteria are still there to form a basis for judgment, even if for some people the overall message is -- understandably -- too repugnant to ignore.
TinPenguin:
--- Quote from: Carl-E on 14 Jul 2011, 06:02 ---It would be hard for an artist like Jeph to completely avoid all commentary on his work, though.
--- End quote ---
I think it would be hard for almost any artist, of any medium. Obviously, l'art pour l'art, and all that, but most creative people still want to know what people think of their creations. I doubt that counting one's website hits/book sales/box office sales/whatever is enough for any artist to really feel appreciated. Every once in a while, every artist has to dive into the pool of public opinion to find out what people think, and there might be some unpleasant things floating in that water. It's very good if they can ignore the nasty stuff and learn to swim past it to find the sunken treasure of positive, thought-out, helpful comments under the icky pondweed of ignorance and bitching.
Yay metaphor.
Is it cold in here?:
The interview:
http://thinkprogress.org/alyssa/2011/07/14/267909/questionable-content-cartoonist-jeph-jacques-on-post-college-career-paths-the-space-program-and-what-hes-learned-from-readers/
DSL:
--- Quote from: TinPenguin on 14 Jul 2011, 10:20 ---
--- Quote from: Carl-E on 14 Jul 2011, 06:02 ---It would be hard for an artist like Jeph to completely avoid all commentary on his work, though.
--- End quote ---
I think it would be hard for almost any artist, of any medium. Obviously, l'art pour l'art, and all that, but most creative people still want to know what people think of their creations. I doubt that counting one's website hits/book sales/box office sales/whatever is enough for any artist to really feel appreciated. Every once in a while, every artist has to dive into the pool of public opinion to find out what people think, and there might be some unpleasant things floating in that water. It's very good if they can ignore the nasty stuff and learn to swim past it to find the sunken treasure of positive, thought-out, helpful comments under the icky pondweed of ignorance and bitching.
Yay metaphor.
--- End quote ---
I agree wholeheartedly. There's criticism -- measuring the work against a standard, driven by knowledge of and/or love for the medium -- and there's just plain tearing down. As I told one caller who didn't like what I had to say in one of my newspaper toons a longtime ago, "Sir,
'You suck' doesn't give me much to work with."
There was an early QC strip in which Jeph had Faye deliver some insightful criticism of criticism.
This one:
http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=323
Is it cold in here?:
323?
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