The Wrong Squid: Gaze with me into my navel . . . I've been working on this cover for a CD on our label for a little while now. I wanted to do something that looked like an old jazz record from the 50s or 60s. Just so we're all on the same page, here's what it looks like at this moment in time:
(text and everything will get added later. Also, it folds down the middle.)
So I'm pretty happy with this so far, yet given the nature of the creative process, there is always fault to find. Right now I'm worried that this is too derivative and purposely retro (two things that irritate me in others - The Bravery, I'm looking in your direction), and that basically I squiggled the mouse around a little and got the basic pattern (though, I also am a big proponent of happy accidents and "I'm just gonna do something and see what happens, and if it looks cool, I'll keep it" which is what led us here to this design).
So, I think it looks cool, which is why I'm probably keeping this as the artwork.
Then I walked down the street, and in the window of a local art gallery was a painting of Ronald McDonald with Hitler's face. Which then further got me thinking about this design and my general approach to things. I thought "I like the way these old records look, and would like to do something similar to that, let's see if I can." Then I see this painting showcased, which has a "message," though it's one I consider to be trite and obvious, and frankly, pretty stupid.
So, I guess what I'm getting at is, are either of these pieces worthy of merit? Does it matter?
This is a sort of pet neurosis of mine, as someone who tends to gravitate towards "low" art (pop music, writing for children (as opposed to "literature"), and sometimes dashing something out in 10 seconds because I think shitty sometimes = funny. Also, if you look at the graphic in the top right of your screen, my drawing skillz are not exactly advanced).
I guess I'm throwing the floor open for comments. This seems like it could be an interesting discussion. I realize that a gallery in Providence isn't exactly the Whitney, but for the sake of this exercise let's ignore that.
