I tend to analogize the whole thing to the film industry.

An auteur is a director whose work is recognizable. He makes movies his way, and they have a look to them. All the blockbusters and market driven movies have their innards messed with by the studios (marketing teams and execs).

If you had no idea who directed a movie before watching it, can you identify the director? Most of the Hollywood stuff you cannot. But you can identify a film by Wong Kar-Wai, Yasujiro Ozu, or Stanley Kubrick. Granted, Ozu was a Shochiku director, but they let him do his thing.

Why do studio driven films never really hold up as art? Because they are the product of marketing, testing, and appealing to a wider audience. But they sure do make money, I admit.

Commissioned work follows from building a name, a look, an edge, a uniqueness, often comprised of life experience, and a way of seeing the world. I don't necessarily disagree with what you're saying, but if there is one solid point I'd like to make, more than anything, it would be this:

He will get a following, and commissions, by staying true to himself. But that does not preclude experimentation on his part. But that experimentation should come from within him and his own self-discovery.

Good god no.  I think professional art criticism is a perversion of art itself. People applying rules telling other people why a work is to be deemed good or bad and what they are expected to infer from the work? Totally missing the point of art in my view.

I personally disagree with the direction the criticism is taking here.

There is nothing worse than an artist who feels compelled by the public to satisfy the least common denominator. Real art is from the heart and mind of the artist, and his world, harnessing his inner human condition, his specific talents, and so on.

WOW!


I admire your verbiage throughout the site, but may I suggest to somehow mention how you bring both--the discarded wood and people--back to life?

Perhaps, you don't need to, for the art shows the revitalization, hence only being a suggestion.

Love your work and site layout. Smooth!

Nah, my artistic talents are... well, they suck. But I like to engage with the works of others. I like the way art is able to trap emotion and can "replay" it for one willing to look at it with open eyes.

From an economic POV it certainly would make sense.

The thing about people buying art is they generally don't want to buy art that evokes negative feelings. With your friends work you can see there's a lot of emotion going into his work that on the other side provokes in a viewer feelings of being stuck in a rut, of being in eternal limbo. I don't know about you but I wouldn't want that on my wall.

Now of course going all loveydovey and happy would absolutely not work with him. But his material of choice "wood" can easily carry connotations of new life, of rebirth. I think the piece "Earth Mother" is very strong in that regard and thus stands out from his other work.

That's some pretty fantastic work from a technical aspect, though it seems he could benefit from branching out a bit. Most of his work right now seems to be grounded in the Liverpoolian pub/workers quarter milieu and the human condition of those living there specifically. The works elicit feelings of dashed hopes and stagnation. I don't know how old he is but it looks he might benefit from doing some hiking around other places not so... British.

Interesting... the possibility of a member leaving just made me realize how important all this speculation is for Bitcoin.

We are quite literally leading the way for its fundamental use around the world.

You could even say, as speculators... we are the FUTURE of Bitcoin. Everyone else just takes advantage of the paths we lay first through our risk-taking and discovery.

Some have a strong faith in Bitcoin's purpose, others do not, are in it solely for the money, and end up leaving.

It is up to those who are true believers to convince the world that this is valuable.

I thank anyone who does stay and contribute. I really believe in this project. I know it's hard sometimes when competing against the pure greed of society, but there was an instance when you thought Bitcoin was valuable for some reason or another... keep whatever that was in mind.

Thanks  

The first exchange that manages to let people pay with PayPal and credit cards for btc at a profit will win.

B2b is nice, biggest demand is still b2c imho.