a recent nasty post brought to mind a fight that has gone on for some years, back in the inkednation days, the days of thousands of enthusiasts on the site at one time together a problem arose.
some artists felt enthusiasts should not be able to critic their work………..
now there is a case to be made for both sides, on inkednation people were allowed to vote for the piece in the “hot ink: section and the vote was pretty personal to these artists who included some of the worlds finest, Jess Yen, Paul Acker, Hazelton, many more,
some sites have now decided not to allow enthusiasts to vote on artwork or ink
I think there could be a place for both?
I think some enthusiasts put personal feelings into those inkednation hot ink votes, but I also recognize how many enthusiasts couldnt properly judge good work on a technical basis. However they could offer their opinion of the composition or artistic ability etc.
I applaud the artists who put it out there, dismiss the crazies and take the praises of us who enjoy great ink. I love to see what good artists have done each week, I visit many sites to see their work. Please never feel you cannot post here
I guess it all depends on what you mean by ‘critique’.
A non-tattooer will obviously not have the background to comment directly on the technical aspect of the tattoo, it’s shading teqniques and so forth.
But the same non-tattooer can still have the background (owing to him or her perhaps having seen many hundreds or thousands of both good and bad tattoos) to give opinion on whether the work is good or bad.
Color composition, overall style and feel, shading and so forth are all open to artistic interpretation, and as such can and should be discussed by anyone with an opinion.
Tattoo artists (the real kind) create artwork that is supposed to be seen. They should, therefore, expect people to have varying opinions on this same artwork, and obviously not everybody is going to agree. For instance, personally I don’t much like Traditional Japanese or Old School work, but I can still appreciate good or bad pieces of those same styles.
I also agree with Arni. Sometimes people comment on a tattoo about whether they like it or not instead of the quality of work.
But in a sense i feel a lot of people for example that guy who was on our site who has now been banned. Just because “somebody” posted one of he’s tattoo’s into he’s thread which he made somebody give a honest opinion on the work (and let’s be honest if a picture get’s posted somebody is obviously going to give there opinion) he is meant to be a tattoo professional he should not care what a “enthusiast” think’s of he’s work but instead he acted like a little bullied school child who had just had he’s Mars bar stolen from him.
well being brainless and having crap teeth im probably not one to comment here, but as in my original post with said angered ar*ehole, (sorry! artist!) surely our opinion is just as valid, if not more than any artist as we are the target market, if a majority of us dont like that particualr artist’s style or dont think much of their ability, then he will have no one to work on and will end up with no job. If im a crap barmaid that thinks all of my customers are a piece of doggy doo doo they will sense that and wont return to my pub in favour of one where they feel welcome. Its the same in all trades, never underestimate the custom! 😀
opinions can also be given in several ways,
you could be giving an opinion on the artwork, its originality, your opinion of its meaning etc
you could be giving an opinion of the technical aspects that you as an enthusiast can see, like good line work, cool light source, color blending
you could be talking about its placement, or how it fits the body area it was put on,
then of course different enthusiasts have different levels of experience, soime practice art in other forms, some have hundreds of hours of work, some have seen alot of work get done etc,
whenever someone is receiving critique they need to realize these things, consider them and them privately decide how much weight to put on that opinion and decide if there is any validity
artists are spooky, why they wouldnt want to display their work for critique I dont know, I wouldnt trust anyone who wont post their work, all or their work
It’s a give and take. No one wants to be critiqued by someone who hasn’t offered up something of their own to be ripped up too. You all know how tattoo artists are, most of us feel that we have payed alot of dues to get to where we are, and we are only comfortable being criticized by others who have paid the same dues. Also, most artists are looking for tips in a critique, not just “this looks good, and that looks bad”. Most enthusiasts can’t give the type of critique that an artist is looking for, they just don’t have the proper insight, so why would an artist open themselves up for critique to a person who isn’t gonna give what the artist considers “usable feedback”.
PS: I have no problem with being critiqued be a collector. It happens everyday at the shop. But when I post a piece online, I am looking for something else, I’m looking for another artists eye. No offense intended to anyone.
But what you WILL get is a thousand different people’s opinions and only a very few artists’ opinions. Does that mean that you should not post any of your work, or that you should (as Mr. Chen talked about) read the comments and decide for yourself what is relevant and what you should take to heart?
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