o_0

[joflasher]

I got an email reply back from the PTB over at Elfwood about me closing my gallery. It contained only the line "It's your loss, Joleen". I'm very confused as to why he bothered sending it. If I really felt that I was loosing something, why the hell would I have left? I don't know if I should chalk this one up to him wanting the last word or him trying to end on a good note. Either way, it doesn't matter. Everything needs to die eventually.

On a non-art related note, the DnD gang is FINALLY getting back together tonight to start a new campaign after about 3 months of break. Our old campaign went for over(?) 2 years before it petered out. It was definitely some of the best role playing fun I've had. I mean, its not ShadowRun but the guys playing made up for the flaws in the system :) So nuns, wandelrust, see you tonight. meerkat299, wish you were around to join us.

Comments

[starherd.livejournal.com]

sounds like a dip who can't bear to not have the last word, even when it makes them look none too bright... *LOL*

Yay DnD! I miss role-playing. :-(

[starherd.livejournal.com]

(to clarify: those aren't the words of trying to end on a good note, at least not in any way I can construe... so it sounds pretty sour-grapey to me)

[talldean.livejournal.com]

That definitely sounds like a 'last word'; give a short reply, and see if he tries to shoot another one in?

:)

diatribe about genre...

[nuns.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't bother. Sounds like you're well quit of those jokers, especially given their STUPID definition games.

What's the point of saying "realistic clothes disqualify art from the fantasy genre?" Never mind that it's perfectly absurd from a generic point of view: what do they win by it?

Here: is Merlin an acceptable subject for fantasy? What if he's wearing black tie eveningwear? How would modern clothes not INCREASE the fantastic quality of the image?

If Merlin is an acceptable subject, what about Guinivere? Isn't Guinivere likely to be wearing early medieval clothing?

What's the point of defining fantasy along those lines, anyway? Does it offer some enhanced ability to assess the value or examine the thematic substance of a composition?

Putting Merlin in 21st century eveningwear is a very interesting choice; the right response to that choice is to figure out what it means to the composition -- not to dismiss the composition as "not fantasy, I mean LOOK he's wearing a tux for Pete's sake!"

I can see how rigid, arbitrarily defined genres help the publishing and marketing industries. Knowing what department to put merchandise in makes it easier to sell. But how can arbitrarily banning subjects help the art itself, or even assessment of that art?

My take on fantasy and science fiction as genres:

Science fiction attempts to extrapolate from known science; we say "what if this were true in addition to what we know of physics" and then explore the implications for the world, or a particular society, or a particular family, or a particular individual.

Fantasy postulates an alternative physics; we say "what if this were true instead of what we know" and then explore the implications similarly.

The point of a generic definition is to create a theoretical framework according to which we can assess:

* the accuracy of the consequences alleged by the artist
* the social value of the artist's vision
* the craft of the composition, in terms of consistency and other elements that vary from form to form
* a host of other things, too numerous to list

Definitions like "fantasy means art that doesn't include anything realistic" offer no such framework. They're pointless because it's almost impossible to use such a definition consistently in composing art. HUMANS are realistic, and should be eliminated. CATS too -- how fast do you think these jokers would change their tune if you forbade art that includes CATS?

Which genre includes STAR WARS? Generally, space opera has more in common with, say, Tolkien than it has with Asimov. We learn by exploring the similarities to Tolkien just as we do by exploring the differences from Asimov.

We should say "considering STAR WARS as science fiction, we learn..." But we should also feel free to say "considering STAR WARS as fantasy, we learn..." and we should not be surprised when the second sentence has a much longer, richer development.

Nevertheless, publishers insist that STAR WARS be sold as science fiction. And that's fine. Putting it in SF results in more sales, and that's exactly what these people SHOULD be using genre for. Artists and scholars should use genre to enhance creation and analysis, not sales. Because in the end, genre is a convenient fiction.

These bozos are doing their best to make things inconvenient. They use genre as a way to avoid analyzing deviations from some specified norm. And deviation from some specified norms is essential to art.

In metrical writing, say iambic pentameter, a theoretical rhythmic pattern "defines" the genre. But people who actually follow it slavishly are considered poor craftsmen and rather naive, since the point of the pattern is that it gives us some baseline against which to consider the deviations the author chooses to make from it. That is, the whole point of the pattern is to deviate from it, so if you don't you have missed the point.

Short form, I guess: these boneheads are lazy and don't want to be bothered by scholarly impulses. They have attempted to divorce art from artwork, and you should walk away and never look back. Which so far is what you have done.

Um, IMHO of course... ;-)

See you this evening!

Re: diatribe about genre...

[talldean.livejournal.com]

I just had this image of Merlin crossed with one of the guys from ZZ Top.

Re: diatribe about genre...

[flasher.livejournal.com]

heh
everybody's crazy 'bout a sharp dressed man

Re: diatribe about genre...

[talldean.livejournal.com]

Go out and get yourself some thick black frames
Glasses so dark, they don't even know your name...

Just Merlin wearing some bluesbrothers era raybans. With the beard. And maybe the girls behind him, but definitely in 'fantasy' garb. Or somethin'.

[meerkat299.livejournal.com]

I wish I could join you guys too, but I had to go and move to the other side of the counrty. *alas*

I still am glad overall that I moved, despite missing you guys.

I am glad to hear that you guys are starting another campaign. Is your boy running this campaign too?

[flasher.livejournal.com]

That's what I've been saying
silly other coast people anyways...but if it makes you happier, I guess I can deal

yeah but it sounds like we're moving into the Forgotten Realms ... he doesn't have time to world build anymore. In order to get into the proper spirit of things, I ordered the Drizzt books.

[starherd.livejournal.com]

Drizzt is cool. I haven't read the books yet, but Husband Dear has gone on about him a good bit. How could he not be cool? He has two z's in his name. Two! :-)

Drizzt

[tg2k.livejournal.com]

I had a friend in high school who went on and on about Drizzt, so I read the books. R.A. Salvatore is pretty good at writing action, though he's not a strong writer overall. I found them very enjoyable reading, though--even if most of what makes Drizzt complex is in how you compare him to the rest of the Drow.

[kasra-c.livejournal.com]

That sounds like the last word to me. You're not the first person I've heard complain about Elfwood recently - some very well-respected anime fanartists have gotten some of the same crap, and they ended up leaving as well. It's a shame, because it feels like they're stifling creativity.

[pancua.livejournal.com]

Have fun!!!