Creative Review- Where is the content?Where is the comment?

Image source: http://www.creativereview.co.uk/cr-blog/2012/february/where-is-the-content

Towards the end of our working day in the college studio, my group got together to discuss an article from the creative Review. The article is posted by Lawrence Zeegan and is titled: Where is the content? Where is the comment?

Zeegan's argument is that illustrators are obsessed with making things 'look pretty' rather than being able to tackle debates/issues within society. He pays reference to a large piece of Shrigley artwork that has been displayed outside the London Hayward Gallery, with a slogan "Fight The Nothingness." Zeegan describes this statement as a "wake-up call to contemporary graphic art and illustration."(Zeegan, Online)

Across the river, Somerset House is launching Pick me up 2012 which I have booked tickets to go and see on the 23rd of march, the event is described by Zeegan as a showcase of "contemporary eye candy"(Zeegan, Online) where everything is based on aesthetics rather that meaning, which is why he asks the question: where is the content?

Of course I understand this opinion and I do agree that illustrators do have a huge focus on the way an image looks, but this a comparison to fine art is it not? And illustration is a completely different discipline.

Fine artists can create whatever they want or feel, without having to really think about how someone is going to read it. Everyone has a their own interpretation and that is the beauty of fine art. However, when it comes to illustration, you usually have to present an idea in a way that makes it accessible for everyone! It is important that we portray a particular message clearly, without having to go and view it within a gallery. Illustration is a completely different career, if we were to approach a brief as a fine artist would, nobody would know what an earth was going on. Not everything can have such a profound hidden meaning, it is a craft in itself being able to portray ideas clearly to an audience and of course still have a sense of self, staying true to your own beliefs. It's not just about spilling the contents of your mind out on to a canvas, there has to be room for both!

Zeegan. L. 2012, Where is the content? Where is the comment? Creative Review (Online)

Available at: http://www.creativereview.co.uk/cr-blog/2012/february/where-is-the-content[16.03.12]