CAF comments - compliment the artist not the owner...

[Gal Schwartz]

Something (which should be very obvious) just struck me;

More often than not, we are using CAF comments the wrong way -

 

Instead of sharing our appreciation to the art by complimenting the artists

and pointing out the art's merits, we (and I blame myself more than others)

usually compliment the owner instead (for being able to buy the art).

 

Why did I think about it all of the sudden ?

Well, I've shared a link to one of the pieces I have put on CAF with the artist

who'd created it.

 

He was so humbled by and appreciative of the kind comments regarding his art

that I went back to the link and reread the comments;

I was a bit embarrassed by the 50/50 ratio of comments complimenting the artist

and myself for picking it up.

 

What the heck did I do to deserve the compliments ?

Managed to give the previous owner enough cash to let me have the art ?

It's the artist who should have the spotlight and the nice words of appreciation.

 

Knowing now (for real) how much our comments could light up an artist's day,

from now on I'd try to change my habits and comment on the art, not the owner.

 

 

Just my 2-shekels (following my Rosh Hashana resolutions).

 

 

 

[Kevin76]

Even though your right, but people want their self esteem boosted through the art they bought. The owner is always looking for a pat on the back from others, because it makes them feel good, This is the same as "Hey, check out my new car I bought" If this isn't true, then take your art off the site. Otherwise, why are you showing it off? This is why I don't post my art on CAF.

[Gal Schwartz]

Kevin,

 

You're right of course...

Obviously we all like to 'show off' (myself included), and float it on CAF

(that and the belief that art should be shared, not hidden away).

 

It's just that until now I wasn't fully aware of what an affect on the artist

a few nice CAF comments could make.

 

Why not pat on the back of the artist you appreciate ?

You'd be surprised how many of them need it too...

 

[Junkdrawer]

Artist today are patted on the back pocket for the art they create, unlike the pioneers, to whom it was just their job.

[chromium]

You make a very valid point... I think part of the problem is that there seems to be a section of the Caf-community that just leaves comments in the hope of getting comments back. So they leave drive-by comments like "congrats" or "grail piece" and move on.

 

A somewhat new (well new to me) offshoot of this is CAF member contacting you to ask to leave "some comments" on art in their gallery with the promise of reciprocating. Am I alone in not appreciating this trend of trying to get more views and/or comments, no matter what the art is ?

[Bronty]

Agreed. I once received one of those 'reciprocal' offers too and just ignored it.

 

Presumably people just want lots of comments on their caf to either boost their esteem or in more mercenary cases like this presumably to strengthen selling prospects.

 

As for appreciating the artist vs the owner, I think either is acceptable. I agree that it's a little bit like congratulating someone for the simple act of writing a cheque, but it is what it is and with today's values the owner is often making a significant commitment.

 

What's equally interesting to me is that I believe it shows that some of us or perhaps some part of us appreciate the art for its value rather than its aesthetics. Simply put, if some of these expensive pieces didn't cost so much, fewer people would gawk, fewer people would comment, fewer people would care.

 

There a large swath of collectors (not just oa collectors but generally ) that are sheep and just collect and care about what the market has told them they should care about.

[Pete Marino]

Agreed. I once received one of those 'reciprocal' offers too and just ignored it.

 

Countdown till this thread gets weird starts now.......

[Doc McCoy]

Okay, let me ask you this, which is worse, those that do this on CAF or those that create individual threads here to show off a piece they're proud to own, when there is an entire thread specifically entitled: The OFFICIAL "This week in your ORIGINAL ART collection?"

 

I don't believe it should be an issue either way. Both this forum and CAF were created to talk about and share comic art that you appreciate and love. Do both artist and owner really need to be complimented on whatever piece was posted? No. Is it nice either way, sure it can be. I know some people on CAF that email everyone they know because apparently they need that ego stroke, while others I know just post their art because it's nice to have a shared interest with others and never say a word. There are all kinds out there. You can appreciate the art and artist for what and who they are, but does it really hurt to congratulate an owner on a nice pick-up? I don't think so. You certainly can do both. And getting back to the OP, why did you share it with the artist in the first place? Because it felt good to get a compliment from them? Right or wrong?

[Bronty]

Agreed. I once received one of those 'reciprocal' offers too and just ignored it.

 

Countdown till this thread gets weird starts now.......

 

 

I'll send u pics of my unit if u reciprocate?

[theflashunc]

Generally, I don't think there's a problem with giving someone a compliment. Whether the receiver is fishing for one or not a different story.

 

That being said, CAF is a tool. For what ends you use it are your own. For me, its a great repository for finding stuff I might be interested in, and just browsing some of the beautiful stuff that's out there.

 

 

 

 

[Grendel72]

arent we over-thinking this a tad bit

[Bronty]

Okay, let me ask you this, which is worse, those that do this on CAF or those that create individual threads here to show off a piece they're proud to own, when there is an entire thread specifically entitled: The OFFICIAL "This week in your ORIGINAL ART collection?"

 

 

I don't see that as a big deal? I get your point but I basically ignore that sticky thread and I'm sure others do too, so I personally don't mind the solo thread and having created a couple myself over the years I see it as ok when there is something you're especially proud of that you don't want to be lost in the shuffle. If someone created solo thread all the time, that would be a problem, but I've not seen that occur.

[Doc McCoy]

Okay, let me ask you this, which is worse, those that do this on CAF or those that create individual threads here to show off a piece they're proud to own, when there is an entire thread specifically entitled: The OFFICIAL "This week in your ORIGINAL ART collection?"

 

 

I don't see that as a big deal? I get your point but I basically ignore that sticky thread and I'm sure others do too, so I personally don't mind the solo thread and having created a couple myself over the years I see it as ok when there is something you're especially proud of that you don't want to be lost in the shuffle. If someone created solo thread all the time, that would be a problem, but I've not seen that occur.

 

It's not, as I mentioned, I don't think either are. If someone wants to compliment the art, the artist or the owner because they share the same tastes, it's all good.

 

I have now responded to your response to me, I expect you to reciprocate Bronty!

[Bronty]

 

Touche!

 

 

[Bronty]

arent we over-thinking this a tad bit

 

You must be new around here

[Grendel72]

sadly no.....i'll just stay outta the way

[Weird Paper]

There's so much total "spoon" amateur fetish juvenile garbage on CAF that I'm frequently so excited to see a page of legitimate comic art that I'll leave a congratulations. Sometimes I'm driven to leave a more detailed comment, and those are the ones I appreciate receiving, though I'm not going to condemn somebody for just leaving congrats, or saying hi, or whatever. Mountain, meet molehill.

 

[Bronty]

^ well sure. Sometimes the short comments are totally legit, and as you say who cares. But there's definitely an element leaving short (or for that matter long) comments in the hopes of drumming up comments for themselves.

[chromium]

Okay, let me ask you this, which is worse, those that do this on CAF or those that create individual threads here to show off a piece they're proud to own, when there is an entire thread specifically entitled: The OFFICIAL "This week in your ORIGINAL ART collection?"

 

 

I don't see that as a big deal? I get your point but I basically ignore that sticky thread and I'm sure others do too, so I personally don't mind the solo thread and having created a couple myself over the years I see it as ok when there is something you're especially proud of that you don't want to be lost in the shuffle. If someone created solo thread all the time, that would be a problem, but I've not seen that occur.

 

 

I don't think I've posted info about a new piece in about two years, even though I've bought a fair amount this year...I just might start a new thread about the two EC pages I got this Summer

[jjonahjameson1]

Something (which should be very obvious) just struck me;

More often than not, we are using CAF comments the wrong way -

 

Instead of sharing our appreciation to the art by complimenting the artists

and pointing out the art's merits, we (and I blame myself more than others)

usually compliment the owner instead (for being able to buy the art).

 

 

 

When someone purchases artwork, they don't have to post it on CAF or elsewhere, but for those owners that choose to post and share it with the rest of us, I am thankful.

 

Whenever I do a search on CAF, for example, I am thankful there's hundreds of images of artwork from my favourite artists that someone chose to post and share with the rest of the art collecting community. So yes, I do leave comments thanking the owner or congratulating the owner and I don't see why I should stop doing so.