You see a wonderful piece of art online, and you want to show it to friends. Perhaps, you may even feel that you wish that you could draw like that--almost everyone feels like that sometime in their life. Nevertheless, you show it to your friends and they think its really great as well. You get the question on occasion, "Did you draw that?" Most people would tell the truth that, no, they did not. However, there is the temptation that may arise and the person will then say "yes."
From the scenario described, how could someone call that flattery to the artist? The appreciation to the art is technically there, yet this act only gains praise for the one who stole the credit of the art work. This can hardly be a compliment to the artist, even if people pat them on the back and say, "It shows they liked your art."
If someone likes an artist's work, it is not flattery or a compliment to steal it! The act of stealing only means that the theif did not respect the artist or his/her work! The act is merely self-fufilling and only an attempt to gain praise at another person's expense.
I have seen people's art stolen, and one of which I learned of today which inspired me to get my word out about this problem.
My friend had been given a portrait for her character on Furcadia (www.furcadia.com) drawn by her friend some time ago and my friend wore this port (short for "portrait") proudly. It was a gift, and she would never dare say it was hers. She would always give proper credit. A few days ago, the port was stolen by someone and used in a dream (Furcadia member-made place) without permission of my friend or her friend who drew the picture. The owner of the dream, when questioned by people who knew to whom the picture belonged, claimed the piece to be hers and that she drew it. Because of this, my friend was distraught that she inadvertedly let this person steal her friend's work and felt utterly guilty of it. The real artist, my friend's friend, hasn't yet learned of the new, to my knowledge, but its clear to what she may feel in responce: anger toward the theft.
My friend whom this happened to then explained, "My philosophy is: The greatest insult you can give an artist is to steal their work."
Stealing art is still stealing. No artist would be happy to have his or her art stolen. You are not showing respect to the artist in stealing his or her work, and you are definitely not complimenting them by calling it your own.
I REALLY LIKED WHAT YOU HAD TO SAY IT WAS AN INTERESTING READ.
Thank you.
I've just been seeing art theft so much, and being an artist myself, I felt the need to voice because some people never seem to realize that by claiming art that isn't theirs to be theirs is stealing.
Ah, what music to my ears.
I, too, am an artist--albeit not a very good one--but I would be very angry if someone stole something of mine, particularly creative property.
You have a point. In a sense when someone says that something great is theirs they are giving the artist compliments on some cosmic level because it shows that they love the picture. But I agree that it is stealing because they say that it is their's when in reality it's not.
"And so it was my escape. My given right to cut as deep as I could. My friend, the blade."
Art, as in drawing, I'm guessing, is different than many other forms of artistic ability. It takes years of practice and I understand the point completely, hopefully you can find some way to report them. Online is very different from the real world, people take things that don't belog to them and take the credit with it, I do believe though, there should be some thought into how that person feels about the work. If they are that passionate about the drawing then yes I do believe you should feel flattered that they enjoyed it but not so much that they should steal it. In any case I enjoyed reading your post!
Alexa
The same sentiment holds true for any creative outlets. I've had poetry and other pieces of work stolen before and it is in no way flattering to see your own hard work in the hands of another who is claiming they wrote it themselves. If someone truly enjoys the work another has done, the best form of flattery is to give credit where credit is due.
"We don't receive wisdom; we must discover it for ourselves after a journey that no one can take for us or spare us." -Marcel Proust
I have found that most artist are will to give you permission to use there for you sites or to make tags as long as it is linked back to there site, in fact they are flattered.
Lady Highlander
Live, Love and Laugh
This is true; however, in asking to do so, getting a yes and giving a link back, you are not stealing. The scenario you mentioned is indeed flattering, and artists will be more than happy to say yes in most occasions.
I can somewhat relate by having a little sister. My actions aren't necessarily art, but being copied all the time, or even some of the time isn't fun and is rather annoying.
This is definately an all or nothing subject too, because you couldn't very well say oh well, if its Picasso, then it's not okay, because he's a great artist, but if it's someone you know who drew stick figures, then its okay, because it has no real value.
I agree with stealing is stealing, and you cant draw the line as to when it becomes okay. Stealing is not acceptable. It's completely fear driven and as anyone who is familiar with fear, all awful emotions spawn from it.
I really liked what you had to say about this.
- Sophia