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...Suck. It has to be said.
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I have hesitated to speak aloud with regards to this dubious and ever so tricky subject for quite some time now, regardless the persistent emails sent to me by concerned contacts and friends. However, I do believe that the time has come for me to actually share my feelings on the matter: a matter which concerns both myself and many other artists who present their work in the public domain....Basically, I am now fully aware (enlightened!) that many blatant imitations of my work, my style and my techniques are circulating almost 'of a sudden' over at Etsy, Flickr and elsewhere.
By blatant imitations, I am referring to a direct theft of my particular style, motifs and techniques. Now, I am fully aware that I do not own a particular set of techniques, of course, they are available to all who care to utilise them, but I am instead pointing to work that appears almost instantaneously with my own, sometimes even a day later, which is almost identical in every way...apart from, perhaps, a sense of studied practice. It would be quite difficult for me to illustrate this to a fine point, for I would surely have to name names, or else show the works in question, which I simply cannot and will not do.
So, I can only hope that my regular readers and support base will recognize the issue for what it is, and realize that this particular post is directed, in the main, to the copy cats themselves.
They will know who they are, for they follow my work almost religiously so; favouriting my images, yet oddly, rarely ever mentioning me as a source of inspiration - in fact, some of them even communicate with me via email on a regular basis, asking me questions about the work, then go away to promptly recreate it. For a time, I was more bewildered than disturbed, and as they say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery (!), but now? I consider the lack of respect and the underhanded manner in which the work is imitated to be downright rude, cowardly, and grossly suggestive of an incredible lack of imagination.
At least 3 of these new 'shops' have denied all knowledge of my existence when questioned by friends. Yet they do actually communicate with me privately and collect my work in their 'favourite' files. Stranger and stranger indeed. It is the ignorance and shameless theft of another persons ideas which troubles me. I do not mind any individual using my work as an 'open' source of inspiration, it is a most pleasurable thing to discover - but there surely is a difference between those who are merely inspired and openly impressed and those who snake around in the shadows, lurking over every new upload of work, with only one intention in mind - to copy it, blatantly, and then attempting to sell it.
I would like to point out here that i do not consider the grafting of rabbit heads onto human bodies to be my own invention. That would be ridiculous. This particular practice is very common amongst many of us in the creative community, and we all embellish our images with our own, distinctive style or flair. Nobody has the copyright on anthropomorphism, in much the same way that nobody has the true copyright to a style or technique. But as many of us know, a copy is a copy.
I will attempt to illustrate an example here : take the work of Marmeecraft (I'm sorry Marjorie, my dear, but you are distinctive!). Her illustrations and paintings are so undeniably 'her own'. It would be immediately visible to all who are familiar with her work if somebody began to churn out endless, cheap imitations. Now, on occasion, both myself and Marmee use animal heads upon human bodies, and it is probably even obvious that we both share a quite similar passion for the expressive potential of hair! Ok, that is very true, but we are each so very different in the way in which we express these common interests, visually, that I cannot imagine any feelings of intrusion or imitation ever disturbing our respect for each other. Our work has certain passions in common, but what we actually produce is nothing alike. And the same goes for so many other artists who have an interest in such themes. I am hoping that this will have made some sense, if any (!!!)
So, finally, you know who you are. You will feel a twinge within you when and if you read this (and you most likely will read it, because you devour my every move). And all that I would like to ask is that you have a little more respect for the hours and even years that I have put into the work that I love - work that you have spent little to no time caring for; work that you do not express from your heart, nor from your intellect. To copy the work of other artists is, like it or not, a violation. People notice it, and they are never, ever impressed.
Does it worry me? No.
Worry is the wrong word. But I do believe that we have a right to express our feelings on the matter, and to voice our recognition of it. And if we, the artists are aware of it, then so too are the audience.
I have made this post as a direct response to the many emails that I have received recently on the subject. It is intended to shed some light onto an already unmanageable issue and to bring awareness to those who may not have encountered the imitations in question as yet. It is also intended to reach the eyes of those who are the cause for concern.
I am not quite used to speaking so boldly about my feelings on such matters, and I do hope that I have handled it as decently yet as honestly as possible.
I am simply asking the people in question to think about what they are doing.
I adore what I do. It is integral to my being. To imitate the visual elements of the work itself is fruitless. The nucleus, the seed from which my ideas continually grow, cannot, thank god, be stolen:)
Imitations rarely ever shine, even if they manage to gain a certain amount of recognition. To create what comes naturally to you is the greatest compliment that you could possibly bestow upon yourself.
Try it and see.
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And my many thanks to those of you who have been kind enough to alert me to such matters, and to those who have been so perfectly supportive. Especially my Sylvia Plath loving friend:) xxx
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***re-edit - Please understand that I only refer to blatant copying that is both insidious and sneaky, and an almost direct imitation of my work. I do not aim any of the above towards persons who have taken my images or collage techniques as a source of inspiration. Please do not confuse yourselves with the true offenders....I know we all worry at times:)***
