If I said the design was ugly Okay, maybe that could be considered
unkind, but you could also look at it as simply an art criticism.
Art critics routinely comment negatively on art work.
I wholeheartedly agree Daniel. I was going to write a similar post
today but you beat me to it. We are in the business of making
something that people will judge aesthetically - call it art if you
like. As such we should be open to both negative as well as positive
criticism.
I grew up in an era when teachers would tell you when you were doing
something wrong, just as they would tell you when you did well. That
is healthy for one’s development in any field. I develop my own
design aesthetic by looking at other people’s work and analysing it.
Asking myself “do I like it?”. If not, why not? If I do like it, then
what do I like about it? If I like an element in a piece, I might
take that element and change it into something similar but different
and use it in a different context so that it’s not a copy, but an
interpretation. If I don’t like an element, I think about what that
person could have done to improve it so that I and others might like
it better. I put efforts into creating a piece with pleasing visual
balance. I will have an opinion on whether or not I like someone
else’s work and I may or may not express it openly - and I have no
problem with doing so. I also have an opinion on whether or not I
like my own work. I have pieces which I’ve ripped apart and recycled
because I did not like them at all. I’ve learned from them and moved
on. I don’t hold with today’s namby pamby attitude of only praising
people for what they do, no matter what the standard of work.
I joined another forum a few months back and posted regularly to it
for a few weeks. I then stopped posting to it or reading it
altogether, because it was pointless. Every single piece of work
that someone showed a picture of, got a positive “beautiful work”
comment, even if it was butt-ugly - and believe me, there was lots of
work which was butt-ugly and of very poor quality. I wanted a
sounding board that could honestly say “that would look better
if…”, etc, etc. But sadly, nobody had the guts to be honest with
people when their work left a lot to be desired. There is nothing to
be gained by simply massaging egos. That’s why I suggested the design
competition idea a few months back (which Hanuman is still working on
btw). I suggested it as a way for people to get their work seen and
for a platform for some constructive feedback. Hanuman has since
introduced the blog network which has satisfied such needs nicely -
although people still won’t offer any negative feedback for people to
improve, because others will slate them for being unkind. Still
hoping the design competition will work out though.
Somebody said the other day something along the lines that there is
lots of work shown on this forum that wouldn’t ever make it into
shops/ galleries, etc, and I’m in agreement with that. A couple of
years ago, when I first started out, my own work was of a very poor
standard indeed and below that needed for it to have been sold. I was
fortunate to have a few members who I correspond with offline, tell
me where I could make improvements, and I’ve worked hard to make such
improvements, to the point where people keep telling me to get my
work into stores because it would sell. I’m still dubious in some
cases and feel that only some of my pieces would make the grade - I’m
still working on it. Some of the pieces still on my website have been
pulled apart because they were of a poor standard which I was not
happy with. But if nobody ever tells others where they’re going
wrong and what they can do to put it right, how can they ever get
better at what they do?
There have been some quite derogatory posts, chastising members for
expressing a negative opinion of the jewellery in question. There’s
nothing wrong in offering an opinion if you also state why you don’t
like something - it makes it a valid opinion if you can back it up
with a reason. I don’t think people are merely dissing it because it
has celebrity connections, although there are more complicated
things going on in this case. For me personally, there are two
issues:
a) I don’t personally like the design (it resembles a snake to me,
more than hearts) and is fairly weak design-wise imho (but my opinion
is irrelevant to the question the original poster posed), and
b) I don’t like that people will buy something merely because it is
associated with celebrity - I find it shallow (also a personal
opinion).
I do, however, still feel that she has every right to pursue her
lawsuit. Also, in answer to the poster’s question, I don’t think she
was agreeing to let her design be freely made by others when she said
she wanted it to become an internationally recognised symbol - just
that she hoped it would become so popular and bought by so many, that
it would become internationally recognised.
Sorry for going on for so long!
Helen
UK
http://www.hillsgems.co.uk
http://helensgems.ganoksin.com/blogs/