untilted dot lol blog (dotart.blog's version)

I admittedly don't have anything new to share this month in terms of words and major updates, other than this: I create artwork that speaks to a wide range of people without caring too much about demographics. As long as many people can engage with it and find something meaningful, that's all that matters. However, I'm not at all that interested in making artwork that is just simply “relatable” in the most palatable way. Especially in a way that renders the artwork to a simple mirror that reflects back what people already believe. I do keep things open to interpretation sometimes, but not so much that people are more likely to just take what I make and use it to just confirm their beliefs without offering or adding on anything new or relevant to what I may have actually intended. My problem with a lot of comics and similar art that's “relatable” is not just that a lot of the jokes or double meanings they try to pull off tend to be tired and old. It's also that they're broad-appealing and straightforward enough that anyone could take them, lightly edit them, and add on new words or visuals to communicate potentially harmful ideas or beliefs. This doesn't mean that I have a problem with meme formats or anything like that, but it does mean that I'm wary of how they're used these days.

Years ago somebody once stopped hanging out with me because I have this thing where I mirror what other people say with my own variation. They gave me no explanation as to why, but another person remarked that they felt I was one-upping other people in the sense that suggests their version is inferior and that my version is better and more relevant. Not taking into account that I have always struggled with language processing issues to a mild degree (the school's speech therapy classes weren't very helpful). They thought I was mocking them. There's none of that implication, however, when it's someone taking a random but popular comic and turning it into a meme template for everyone to iterate on them. There's more of an explicit permission built into the format to do whatever you want with it, make your own variant, even one of that mocking the person who originally made the artwork-turned-format in the best or the worst way. But somehow original thought and politeness is to be expected in real-time conversation.

I notice that all that flies out of the window when it comes to political memes and even borrowing quotes from various famous people (especially artists) just to make a political point. Taking words out of context (which doesn't necessarily indicate a lack of reading comprehension, but it could look that way, which is why many opponents tend to pull out that defense), turning famous artworks or photographs into political cartoon variants, and the like. When it's done right and done in a very innovative way that helps instead of harms people, it can be good. But for most people who take that approach, it tends to be a rhetorical shortcut for them, at best. By invoking a celebrated writer or artist, a conveyor can tap into popular culture and make their ideas more accessible than if they let their ideas stand on their own merits alone. The reference works as a shorthand that instantly validates the speaker's position as historical authority is transferred to the present-day argument. Whether political or relational, at the end of the day it merely reinforces the pre-existing beliefs we all have, instead of critically reflecting on them and the original sources we wish to reference.

A musician can speak up on global warming or war and all of a sudden people either expect him to be an expert, or just remain quiet and “stick to music”. An artist can make a nonrepresentational piece that just so happens to resemble a shared cultural statement, and people will focus more on that resemblance and what hidden messages the artist is hiding, rather than care about the artwork's actual story or intent. Even someone who just happens to do activism as a side-job can often be reinterpreted exclusively through the lens of a job they just happen to do, even when they might be more multifaceted than that. Media coverage, fan commentary, and political discourse will often frame such people I just mentioned primarily based on the most immediately notable or relatable thing they happen to do, whether the people intend it to be a primary thing in their life or not. And thus, this eclipses the broader range of their identity. Making them into a symbolic vessel for the cause, a recognizable face they reference, whether for giggles or to communicate a belief they would like everyone and themselves to confirm.

All of these phenomena rely on the power of symbolic association. All of these rely on borrowing credibility or visibility. They all lock individuals into this role they're expected to conform to.

I think that's why I stopped making art for a while after graduating from high school until I came up with Untilted, people for the most part don't care where I come from, they don't care about my actual limitations or values, they just want me to be the ideal “tortured but talented artist” for others to live up to. They ultimately begin to prefer to see what I can ideally make for them, not me as a person or my values or even my limits. I make something good once and now all of a sudden I owe people something good everyday or when someone demands it. I say something relatable once and all of a sudden that becomes the reason people follow me or want to be friends with me. I state what I believe in publicly and all of a sudden many people with wildly different versions of the same belief I have want to get acquainted with me, then act surprised when I don't share the same version of my beliefs as them. That's not why I state things publicly, or why I put out art or other images. Yes, I want people to relate to me and what I do and what I've experienced. But I don't want or intend that to result in people slotting me into predetermined roles or liking me because I said or did something “good” once.

I could have multiple things I want to do besides art. I could be widely mistreated or mishandled by others on a daily basis. I could be struggling on the inside instead of it being visible. I could have things happen to me against my will, disappear for days, maybe even for good. And people would still slot me into a role I'm expected to perform.

But that's not what I make art or share things for. Not for anyone else to slot me into a role or expect things from me that I can't reasonably do.

Not for anyone else to take what I do out of context.

For any inquiries or feedback, please contact me at this email right here. (When commenting on a blog post, kindly include “Re: [insert blog post name here]” in the subject line.)