Shawn Barber Interview on Fecal Face

There is no denying that Shawn Barber has talent. When I first saw his work in Juxtapoz, I was pretty amazed. What caught my eye initially was a Mike Giant tattoo homage painting he did...I just stopped and stared at the pages of the magazine. He is an amazing 'fine' artist and I love his content.

Here is a good quote on ripping off art from his interview on Fecal Face:

Q: A lot of artists' art out there today looks like a lot of other artists' art. Did you ever feel that another artist was stealing your ideas and ripping off your work or has any other artist accused you of stealing their ideas and ripping off their work? -submitted by BRENDAN

A: Hi Brendan- I have strong opinions on artistic plagiarism- but have mellowed out quite a bit in the last couple of years. I've had former students state that they don't look at 'anyone's' art ever (which is bullshit) because they don't want to be influenced by 'anyone'. 'Art' doesn't exist in a vacuum- we are all influenced by the world we live in and unless you're a blind person who actually doesn't have the physical ability to see- you can't deny this obvious fact. Influence and inspiration keeps anyones' 'art' fresh, new, exciting and invigorating. We've all done 'Master copies' or pieces 'in the style of' another artist to learn process, technique, drawing, color theory, etc. This is how you progress faster. The problem that I have with it all is not the influence but the outright emulation of someone's imagery, personal icons, mark making, content and style through a distinct body of work. You are never going to be an 'original' if you emulate one person's 'art'. You are just being lazy and inconsiderate; and you might just be trying to get rich quick or be part of the 'cool kids club'. If you can't respect yourself, why would anyone else? Unfortunately, many galleries can't get or show the artists works that they want to and show second rate rip-offs- just to make a buck. I've personally called a few people out on it in the past, but finally realized that it's a waste of energy on people that are probably never going to get it anyway.

There is no denying that Shawn Barber has talent. When I first saw his work in Juxtapoz, I was pretty amazed. What caught my eye initially was a Mike Giant tattoo homage painting he did...I just stopped and stared at the pages of the magazine. He is an amazing 'fine' artist and I love his content.

Here is a good quote on ripping off art from his interview on Fecal Face:

Q: A lot of artists' art out there today looks like a lot of other artists' art. Did you ever feel that another artist was stealing your ideas and ripping off your work or has any other artist accused you of stealing their ideas and ripping off their work? -submitted by BRENDAN

A: Hi Brendan- I have strong opinions on artistic plagiarism- but have mellowed out quite a bit in the last couple of years. I've had former students state that they don't look at 'anyone's' art ever (which is bullshit) because they don't want to be influenced by 'anyone'. 'Art' doesn't exist in a vacuum- we are all influenced by the world we live in and unless you're a blind person who actually doesn't have the physical ability to see- you can't deny this obvious fact. Influence and inspiration keeps anyones' 'art' fresh, new, exciting and invigorating. We've all done 'Master copies' or pieces 'in the style of' another artist to learn process, technique, drawing, color theory, etc. This is how you progress faster. The problem that I have with it all is not the influence but the outright emulation of someone's imagery, personal icons, mark making, content and style through a distinct body of work. You are never going to be an 'original' if you emulate one person's 'art'. You are just being lazy and inconsiderate; and you might just be trying to get rich quick or be part of the 'cool kids club'. If you can't respect yourself, why would anyone else? Unfortunately, many galleries can't get or show the artists works that they want to and show second rate rip-offs- just to make a buck. I've personally called a few people out on it in the past, but finally realized that it's a waste of energy on people that are probably never going to get it anyway.