Drawn

DB Dowd, previously blogged for his thread on the difference between cartoon and illustration, has expanded his ideas into a chart showing the various branches of reproduced image production. He writes,

“Frustrated by the lack of a larger narrative in which to locate genres, careers, and achievements, I have been working on visualizations of the development of commerical images.”

I’ve been writing some responses to this chart, as I think it is both helpful and problematic. But I’d like to see the discussion broadened by others. As imaginative visual media continues to grow in popularity in animation, web graphics, print, and gallery, I think it’s really important that we the creators contribute to how we understand our work in the world, theoretically and historically. If we don’t, someone else will – likely someone who can’t draw and who will pigeonhole us in unfavorable ways, as happened in art history in the past.