Okay. I do my best to stay out of DA-related drama, mostly because I honestly don’t care. But this subject is popping up among a whole lot of prevalent artists, and I firmly believe the view being projected is skewed. Thus, I feel a slight sense of responsibility to offer the counterargument; to play Devil’s Advocate, if you will.

Namely, the argument I’m hearing is this: “If you have nothing nice to say about an artist or an art piece, don’t say anything at all”. Now, of course, we can all understand the simple wisdom given to us by Flower. (Disney reference. If you don’t know it, that means I’m really old.) However, here’s the inherent problem with boiling an art community down to this line; how in the hell are we supposed to grow as artists if we constantly get our asses kissed? The, of course, juiciest part of this irony is that the people complaining the loudest about this negativity are artists who have a solid, thousands-strong fan base and grace the front page every time they post a piece; namely, these are people who, based on the huge positive response they receive on a daily basis, should be the least effected by such “mean” things said. Yet they’re the ones most bothered. That, I have yet to understand.

My main point is this; DA is an internet-based, public art community. Not everyone is going to be smart, nice, un-jealous or efficient in the way they address your art. If you don’t like it, if you can’t hack it, take your art down. Only show your art to your friends who you know aren’t going to make you feel bad. Otherwise, shut up and create. Just because someone happens to post something that isn’t a shining review of your work doesn’t necessarily mean they’re jealous, an asshole, bored, stupid, ignorant, drama-causing, attention-seeking, etc. It could genuinely mean they didn’t like the piece, and as an observer of that piece on a public forum, they have every right to tell you they didn’t like it. If you look closely, every piece of feedback you get is a gift, even if it happens to be wrapped in garbage instead of pretty paper. Not everyone is a wordsmith; not everyone who has an honest, valid point to make is going to be able to express it correctly. “The girl’s face looks stupid/weird” may really mean “the lighting on the model isn’t flowing well with your other subjects”. If you take it at face level, you’re going to miss what could be a shining opportunity to make your art better. And what kind of artist would pass up that chance?

Basically, it’s getting ridiculous that established artists with thousands of watchers (or any artist, no matter how many fans) would fall to their knees at the mercy of a few people who aren’t the best at giving critiques. Yes, I’m sure there are a few out there who are just plain jerks, trying to bring someone down- so, why in the world is everyone letting them succeed? Why are journals full of whining, begging, excuses, etc being posted constantly, admonishing the public, “If you don’t like the work, don’t look at it/don’t comment/don’t say anything at all.”
Here’s the problem, guys. Not everyone is going to like you or everything you make. And they have every right on a public art site to let you know just how they feel.

It’s your choice- your responsibility- on how you deal with those kinds of people. You can either whine about it, and insult the thousands of people who do love your art by letting only the few that don’t like it affect you (which, by the way, does not in my eyes reflect well on one’s humility); or you can find the hidden gem of advice that people are really trying to tell you when they give you criticism, choose whether or not to use it in the future, and move on. Or, third option being, just flat out ignore anything that isn’t praise. DA offers plenty of options to its artists on this front: disable comments, block users, report them to the admins, etc. You have choices. But what needs to be remembered is that if you post your art on a public site, if you enable comments, you are inviting both positive feedback and not-so-kind critique. These are the facts.

But it is unfair and selfish to tell a viewer on this site to “not say anything” if it isn’t nice. In fact it’s complete and utter bullshit. Not only will it not help someone grow as an artist, but if you post your art for, literally, the world to see, you have no right to then censor the feedback you get.

Think about it this way: how pissed off would you become if someone started censoring your art based only on their personal opinions of what they would like to see on DA? What if someone said, “Well, I don’t like anime, dark art, nude photography or self-portraits. I’m going to demand that artists take these things down, because I don’t like them.” You’d be livid, right? Unfair, right? So why is it people think, conversely, that they can come to a public site and say “I’m going to demand that people say only things I want to hear. I don’t like negative or constructive criticism; I’m going to campaign to get all of that stopped.”

Boo-hoo, right?

The only person you have the right to control is yourself, and your actions/reactions, so start there, and I guarantee the DA experience you have will be so much better.

Grow a backbone, or get the hell out of here. It’s getting ridiculous. Normally people’s bitching, I let slide off my back (as I’ve stated here, so should everyone); but when you cross the boundaries of trying to inhibit free speech, that is something I feel needs to be defended at every turn. It’s what we artists should believe in the most.