Last month you might have read about Google asking illustrators and artists to submit work for use on its new web browser for free, with global exposure stated as being a fair reward. Recently I stumbled upon Milton Glaser’s response to the story and thought he made some very good points about the growing expectation of free work from artists, illustrators, designers and alike:
“Artists frequently and appropriately work on a pro bono basis for charitable organizations and other social causes. Google doesn’t quite match this description. The proposal can be interpreted as an indication of contempt towards illustrators and artists who have been contacted for this purpose. Many have refused to participate, others, responding to a decline in work, have agreed to cooperate.
Personally, I find it hard to imagine life without Google. I love the service, but in this case, they are pursuing a policy that can only be characterized by tacky opportunism. It is true that art has a higher purpose than financial reward. But this should not be used to justify exploiting illustrators and artists who are struggling to survive in a very difficult time.” MG
I just finished watching the Imagine documentary ‘David Hockney - A Bigger Picture‘ on BBC, which was great. One of the most satisfying aspects of the program for me was seeing how enthusiastic Hockney was to incorporate digital technologies into the making of his works. As you might expect digital cameras and Photoshop featured but to discover the 71 year old also enjoys ‘painting’ on his iPhone might come as more of a surprise:
To coincide with tonight’s show the BBC and Hockney are making three pieces of phone art by the artist available for free download over the next 48 hours. The director of the Imagine documentary Bruno Wollheim explains how they were made:
“David Hockney wakes up just before the dawn, takes his phone and from his bed starts to draw the cut flowers by his window, using the ‘Brushes’ app. With his thumb brushing the screen he works on the same scale you can see in front of you. It’s a medium he started using tentatively five months ago but in just the last seven weeks he’s made over 200 of these images. He likes the medium for its directness and speed, the ability to draw and paint at the same time, and the instant delivery.”
Having heard the Bowie documentary ‘Cracked Actor’ mentioned on the radio a few weeks back I decided to check it out and wasn’t disappointed. The film, which was made by Alan Yentob for the BBC in 1974 not only offers a great insight of Bowie’s thoughts and what his life entailed in that period, it’s also packed with witty lines from the man himself. Well worth a watch.
I’ve had the track ‘All Them Witches’ by Plugs stuck in my head all weekend so here it is for you to endure enjoy a similar fate. The video was directed by Morgan Quaintance and Sebastian Lloyd who also shot ‘That Number’, which Plugs released last year.
