Let's talk about...
The Cost of Comfort.
As I have been to conventions and learned about how the scene of not only comics, but art, has changed, I have been motivated to wonder if this is for the better or for the worse.
To think that only twenty years ago all someone had to do to get considered for publishing in a company like Image Comics or Dark Horse Comics was to mail in our samples and await a response, or the lack there of, is a baffling ideology today.
It seems that there is no protocol for things like that anymore. The industry has changed so that they are not looking for new talent. They only want more talent that is going to maintain the status quo. They want us to go off and make our own products, finish our own projects, on our own budget. Then, they will consider hiring us.
This is not inherently a bad thing! If anything, for people who want to get into the industry it just might be the motivation we need to make the book that only we can make. The problem I see, though, is how the solidification of attitude is geared to render our efforts useless to these forces.
How do you introduce something new and awesome to a world that does not want anything new or fresh? I suppose this is my predicament. Publishing corporations are not the only places that have closed their doors to new, hungry talent. In fact, they seem to be the least of the bigger problem that is simmering under the skin of our culture.
As social media takes a greater chunk out of our time every year, I can see how it changes the type of work younger artists are making and presenting to the public via these platforms.
Don't get me wrong, the internet and it's various sites have provided artists (like myself) with limitless exposure mileage. But my question is, what good is any of that mileage when all we do with it is dispense our hard worked pieces of art into this ruthless algorithm?
It seems that while social media is providing so much potential for up and coming artists to express themselves, we are all being left to the mercy of the algorithm, which is written purely to shovel more coal in to fuel the market forces that created it. These forces, then, supply the SAME visual content it knows it's subscribers ALREADY like.
This is detrimental to artists. We put everything we have into furthering our mediums of choice into uncharted territory and carrying our viewers' imaginations along with it!
But what good is that effort if the very platform upon which we project our labors is dedicated to reducing it simply to "disposable content"?
Being an artist is all about reinventing old tricks and creating new art forms. This is where our interests conflict with the platforms. Therefore, is it really offering true exposure if it is simultaneously reducing our art's value to ones and zeros?
While the internet has brought about some wonderful, innovative capabilities to our culture, there is more it cannot and should not try to replace. Our freedom to explore and open ourselves up to new experiences with new art forms is one of them.
I propose that we, artists, put more heart and soul into original works that have long term value rather than quick flings to feed the algorithm. It's our job as artists to form community, challenge lines of thought, and to form new ways of expressing ourselves. We should use social media accordingly, rather than let it control our creativity.
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