Four Illustrators
I was drawn to the video on the four illustrators because in a short amount of time they really dig into the depths of the importance of illustration and perhaps its departure from art. Christophe Niemann discussed in the film his love for the short lived viewing of his work versus that of other artists. “Drawing something and then a million people look at it for half an hour and then it gets thrown out. For me thats still the sexiest part about illustration…that for me is ten times as attractive then for lets say over the course of 20 years people walking into a museum or living room one after the other looking at my work.” I think the Niemann brings up an interesting point in that illustrations are a one-time and done kind of art form. People do not take them in for hours and dissect their every form, but rather look it them as a whole, react to them and then move on. Niemann also discusses in the video that as an illustrator he looks for the audience’s reaction and will alter his piece to amplify that reaction, unlike an artist who does their work solely as an expression of themselves.
I think this brings up the question of whether illustration is therefore more powerful than traditional artwork because it is produced for audience reaction or is it more fleeting because it lasts for a short amount of time? Robert Grossman in the video brings up this same idea and argues that it is fleeting. He talks about his own numerous illustrations of George W. Bush as an ape, which brought about audience reaction, but then Bush was still reelected to office. Or during the Vietnam War, his illustrations of Lyndon B. Johnson that had negative connotations and received reaction, but then the war still raged on for 8 more years. In the end Robert is saying that he is not sure that illustration matters in the long run, while Steve Brodner figths back arguing that perhaps it doesn’t have prevassive effects on things, but still has some minute impact on the issues as a whole and that being a part of the discussion is still important.
I think that this is an interesting concept when applied to a variety of subjects not just illustration, and even so much as voting in a democracy as large as ours, that every voice counts and in illustration when millions might see your work that voice may be fleeting, but might also have more reach than one might realize.