You know, we as artists can often be full of shit. And there's nothing wrong with that. We're passionate people that tend to be blinded by our moments of passion and speak before we think things through. Sometimes we're a bit too zealous in our ideas and speak as though there is no refuting what we think. Normally, we say those things between friends or to small groups of people the most. Sometimes, we publicly broadcast them in journals and blogs. There's really no problem with this.

The problem comes when we as artists want to act like teenagers and young adults who have been sheltered from the world by our circles of family, friends, and local educators that tell us we're so great and so smart and so special. That tell us our opinions matter.

Yes, what you think matters, but once you make what you think PUBLIC, it's open for discussion. Discussion doesn't mean everyone agrees with you. Discussion means that views are exchanged back and forth in a way so both parties understand each other and hopefully, in the end each learn something from it. It's not about being right or wrong (though if you're right, then the other person should admit and if you're wrong, you should admit. Maybe not everything you said, but certain points on both sides will be refuted or supported.

What happens with artists is we become primadonnas (or quivering pussies, which is the terminology I prefer).

And yes, I am going to call this person out. Not because I've got some grudge or anything like that. Mostly because I find it unnervingly childish how things went and this person's actions actually COMPLETELY PROVED MY POINT. Which is of course, why I'm making this journal.

[link]

I don't recall my exact words, but my points went like so:
1- Critique isn't telling you that you're doing it wrong. It's people telling you their impression of what you made.
2- The success of your image is how well if does what you INTEND it to do. If someone is saying that it doesn't, then maybe you should consider that it wasn't as successful as you thought.
3- I used the feature image on the user's front page as my example. I said that I thought it was one of her weaker pieces. (I actually don't know if Jahi is a man or a woman, but all the psuedo estrogen fueled bullshit over the years makes me feel like she's a chic. I know I know, I'm a misogynistic bastard. Boo hoo. Keep reading and cry about that later.) This was based entirely on my impression of what she was trying to express. I think I said that I didn't think she drew it and colored someone else's as she had done one of mine a while back. I brought up that it wasn't up to her usual standard with anatomy pertaining only to muscle flow. I said that to me, it looked like a lazily posed poser model. (Come to think of it, that's probably what got the reaction. Maybe I hit too close to home? I've seen her sketches the for drawings. I know she draws. And if it was an attempt with poser, just say so. It's not a big deal.) I also mentioned that I was a dancer for most of my youth and young adult life and still am very much into dance and motion. I said the whole reason that I thought this is because it didn't look like the muscles were engaged. I also said that if the intention to go for "fake" or doll like, it wasn't really working either because the ambiguity didn't look intentional.
4- I also brought up the point of phi (golden ratio). It exists in nature and is right on point with how humans perceive beauty.
5- My language with her is always gentle because I have noticed that she's kind of an emotional mess when people don't agree with her and has a tendency to delete galleries.
6- I believe I said that the journal gave the impression that she feels she's above listening to anyone that isn't praising her or agreeing.

In any case, rather than responding, she hide the comment and blocked me. Because that wasn't completely childish. I can't say that I've EVER done that on any gallery I've been on regardless of what people have to say to me. Then again, I don't put myself on a pedestal and don't feel the need to secure my spot above the crowd by any means necessary.

I will say this though, to the few people that read my journal, you never know who you're interacting with online or bumping into on the street. Your actions do affect you later down the road and whether it's positive or negative, it tends to happen when you really need it or you really really don't. Also, by silencing and censoring opposition rather than being direct and just talking to the person really cuts off intellectual and creative resources you can have down the line.

Edit: I'm adding this because I thought it was relevant. Wanting to be self important and not listen to well meaning people can lead to things like this. [link]
And honestly, if I had a company later and one of those guys came to me, they better be ready to sweat during the interview because I would want to know what they were thinking and STILL not hire them. (The decision makers anyway.) Being too self absorbed is just bad practice on a whole.