Hey Gang!
This summer you shared feedback with me that one of the things you wished to gain from this blog was to be able to see examples of great work that inspires you.
Some of you expressed that you’d like to have a platform where you could see each other’s work and share constructive criticism, etc.
We also believed that there was a need give you access to 3 levels of communication:
1. Us talking to you (articles)
2. You talking back to us (Comments)
3. You talking to each other (Forum)
We launched the Forums as a resource to fulfill those needs but the reality is that no one is really using the Forums for that subscriber-to-subscriber interaction. No posting of art to share and critic, no feedback to each other, etc.
I’m considering closing the Forums due to it’s lack of use, but I want your feedback first:
1. Should we close the Forums?
2. Is there any specific reason why you don’t post there?
3. Is there something we should replace it with (e.g. an Ning social networking page)?
We really want to make sure that we’re listening to you and that we’re giving you what you need, so please don’t hesitate to reply!
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i too prefer the second option. it’s more accessible and seems to have most activity on the same page. it’s clearer. easier to see what is actually going on and where activity might be.
i have engaged with the forums on occasion, but not as often as some other places i frequent. there are several reasons for that. i will address the various aspects you have presented and why i personally engage less than i could.
1. Great work that inspires you – we haven’t really done this e.g. ‘new discoveries’ and discussions of those discoveries. that being said, it would be interesting to have discussions around graphic novels (and not necessarily “christian” ones). what works? what doesn’t? how do the text and image work together? for instance (in light of recent manga bible stories etc), i recently read a book about the history of manga comics, by one of the originators of modern-day manga, drawn as manga, that also explores post-war japan and culture, and its embrace of american pop culture. it’s a fascinating book (it’s a drifting life by yoshihiro tatsumi). i think that more critical exploration of comics as a medium might be fruitful. especially since most “christian” comics i’ve seen are not particularly creative. they don’t stand out. or maybe i just need to find more examples? even that would be of interest to me. but remember — i’m an art snob.
2. See each other’s work/ constructive criticism – i don’t tend to engage here much either because i’m not sure where my understanding of critique comes in. what do we want critiqued? the image – is it cliche, ill-proportioned, coloured appropriately? or the narrative – again, is it cliche, are the characters well-developed, do we discover something or is it didactic? things seem to be presented pretty much completed, and often isolated from any real context.
and what kind of critique do we want? i am pretty thorough and always try to approach critiques from a contextual base — how does this fit in with the [living] tradition of this type of work? its style? the filmic qualities? the narrative structure? i mean, have we read scott mccloud’s understanding comics? are we really engaging the medium and its possibilities? i’m often not convinced that people are moving beyond the “talented amateur” phase (by which i mean you love the medium but don’t really engage with it on a deeper, conceptual level). i’d like the opportunity to look a larger bodies of work, or sections. also, i don’t do comics work, or “church ministry”, so i’m not sure where i fit into the conversation here.
i’d be interested in discussing the medium of comics (because – while the splashy single image is impressive – comics are a narrative medium involving both story and image), and contextualizing that within culture and the church.
3. Us talking to you (articles) – essentially, i find the articles generally too cursory. i’m not sure they’re even “articles”. i’d like to know your opinion so i have something to push against or agree with. it’s often “some people say…” or something similar. let’s put some stuff out there to really get people discussing – arguing even. i’m not sure that everything that gets discussed has to be about matching [artistic] activity to scripture. there is such a thing as theological thinking, after all…
perhaps you might find some other contributors who might provide some articles/ ideas to generate discussion. because you’re right — it has been mostly you.
4. You talking to each other (Forum) — this is where i struggle most with a lot of “christian” forums. people tend to focus on the “christian” side of things, and not really on the practical/ skill side of things. i mean, you do address a lot of practical aspects of promoting and making a living, and being disciplined (and we all need that), but i wonder how some of the topics translate across the larger culture. i’m reminded of andy crouch’s culture making – how are we creating and engaging with cultural (since we are, in fact, involved in culture). in fact, that would be an interesting book to read and think through how to apply it to our work and calling as artists. i still get a sense of this being about the (sub)culture of church. which is fine. it’s about christian [comic] art, and it’s for christians.
it’s simply not the level of engagement i would seek out. then again, it could be. i have had some interesting discussions through artlessonsfromgod, and discussions which challenged and changed (well, mediated or modified) some of my positions. and i enjoy the sometimes more heated exchanges. i can handle emotion, but i really like it when that passion comes accompanied by an knowledge of and awareness of the subject at hand. i think this could be important. perhaps the original vision/ mission needs to be clarified and reaffirmed. perhaps it needs to be enlarged or widened. perhaps not.
perhaps the question should also be, what do you want from this forum?
Tony I like the 2nd one because I can blog it on my blogline page and keep up with it better. It is more visually oriented, more to the liking of my right brain functioning. In fact, I’m going to sign up on it after I post here. Thanks for the option.
The first forum is simple enough, man, I wish I was paying more attention…you was out there, but no one responded.
The second one is cool too…what do you think?
Thanks, Victoria and Gimel.
I agree that the feature must be simple. The current forum actually has over 50 users (they’re just not using it). It’s a simple layout and I’ve kept features to a minimum.
What are your thoughts on how these compare?
This is the current forum:
http://artlessonsfromgod.com/forum/
Here’s a version I’m considering (powered by Ning.com) that allows you to post, your pics, videos, etc.
http://artlessonsfromgod.ning.com/
I agree with Victoria’s comments.
I would love to do all that you suggested through this particular forum, but I’m assuming there has to be some bait in it in order for others to bite.
I have more questions than I have answers when it comes to certain technical things, but will anyone respond to me?
I pray this becomes an awesome community of artist, especially christian artist, so please keep it.
But I’m on a strict diet of simplicity…complicated “anything” make me confused and discouraged.
Thank you for reaching out, sir.
Didn’t even know you had forums.I am already in other groups, so it would have to be worth the time to invest to be a part of another forum. If there was a forum for all you listed above it may be it never got started or there was no one actually active in them, you have to have someone actively and regularly sharing for any forum to succeed. My #1 reason for not participating in your forums: didn’t know anything about them and have no idea even how to get into your forums, they have to be easy or I don’t have the time to go thru complicated ways to get there(which some are, not saying yours are just one of the facts I dealt with forums before as to why they didn’t succeed). Thank you for always thinking of our needs, I so appreciate your blogging.