Blackmoor Vituperative

Two weekends ago, at RavenCon, one of my artist friends had a piece of artwork on his table in the dealer’s room, in which a skull was overlaid with a Confederate flag graphic. Beneath, it said, “Treason in the defense of slavery should not be celebrated.”

Not too long ago, Governor McDonnell declared April “Confederate History Month” in Virginia (it is already Confederate History Month in several nearby states). Personally, I do not see a problem with this, for reasons I have explained elsewhere.

You might think that I would object to this artwork. You might be surprised.

Art, at its best, should provoke a reaction. Whether it’s lust, or nostalgia, or awe, or some other emotion, the best art affects us. This particular piece of art affects me in two different ways. On the one hand, yes, I absolutely agree with the sentiment behind it. Treason in the defense of slavery should not be celebrated. On the other hand, I strongly disagree that secession was treason, that the Confederates who actually fought in the Civil War were fighting to defend slavery, or that most of the people who would commemorate that conflict are celebrating “treason in the defense of slavery”.

I do not pretend to be an art critic. I can’t even remember the name of my favorite painting, or the artist who painted it (it’s a girl standing on a rock under an open sky, with her dress billowing in the wind — if that rings a bell to you, please drop me a line). But I think this is an effective piece of artwork, on par with (and in my opinion superior to) Shepard Fairey’s “Hope” poster. This challenges us, and does so with a clean and immediately understandable design.

Well done, Andy.

This week, 50,000 new lawsuits have been filed against downloaders. It’s only going to get worse.”

“The history of copyright and intellectual property rights goes back to the 1700s. The free distribution of copyright works has never been impeded like it is today.”

“Surveillance methods being used are in the same league as those used by the NSA, CIA, MI5, MI6 and China. A real and genuine underground of revolt is brewing.

(from What’s inside your home is yours, except computer files, ZDNet)

Check out these samples of French animation.

Last April, Shepard Fairey mobilized his legal team to send Baxter Orr a cease and desist order threatening legal action against him. The Austin, Texas, artist made a parody of Fairey’s Andre the Giant design, adorning it with a SARS mask and the title “Protect Yourself.”

Now the Associated Press is suing Fairey for copyright infringement for using a wire service photo as a model for his artwork

What comes around goes around. Personally, I think both suits are absurd, and simply illuminate the absurdity of our copyright laws and the legal system that keeps them in place.

A custom figure maker called Sillof has created a series of figures for a Steampunk version of Star Wars that is really quite nifty. Check it out.

Just a quick entry to mention a list of Gary Gygax jokes, and a really neat gallery of art made from A4 paper.

This is perhaps the most brilliant thing I have seen in the realm of web-based comics.

Garfield Minus Garfield

The National Library of France (BnF) has an amazing collection of prints from 1910 which depict life in the year 2000. They are credited to Villemard.

Just for fun, here is a link to one reader’s opinion of the Top Ten Skimpiest Superheroine Costumes.

I used to have such a crush on Supergirl… and Vampirella… and Witchblade…

I have to admit that I am surprised that Starfire did not make the list.