Some People Really CAN'T tell the Difference Pt. 3

Well, this post is certainly long overdue! I started writing Pt. 3 at the end of May (2009!) and then got busy with other things. And then I just dropped the ball... several times... so some of the following is no longer true:  Like my backyard is no longer in my hometown of San Francisco and I have no idea if Dark Garden still carries the merchandise in question.
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Here is what I found out: The company selling taxidermy jewelry at Dark Garden has a website and is all over the Internet on MySpace, Etsy, Facebook, twitter, eBay, etc. (and now has a physical "shoppe" in my own backyard.) The quality of the taxidermy and metal work is dependent on who actually did the work. It certainly wasn't them. Nothing that I could find there was especially unique, or inspired.

(Perhaps coincidentally, this company was started shortly after I showed the direction my taxidermy going with jewelry to a groovy new store that was opening but who never called me back. The shop opened and ended up stocking this cheaper, and what I feel is derivative, work and mind you:  they sought me out.) 

Some of what I discovered was truly appalling. Dressed up mice that are a total rip-off of Jeanie M's work. Human figures with animal heads, a little too reminiscent of my work for my taste (But only if my work had collided with Mattel's Barbie, and a lot of hot glue):

Queen of Hearts Barbie
(Oh - no - she - did - NOT!)

Evening Majesty Barbie
(Oh yes she DID!)

Painstakingly researched and prepared images swiped from my website decorating their MySpace page listed under "Who I would like to meet" but linking these images back to their commercial site instead of the source of the images:

(FYI, their My Space page was made private shortly after I started this blog)

Even more pilfered images filling their MySpace image folder of Victorian Taxidermy:

Every one of these images was taken from my website.  I love it that that they couldn't even bother to remove some of my pale yellow backgrounds!

I found this quote in one of their online bios: "We seek out obscure and unique materials to create Loved To Death items."  Hummm:

Pigeon heads available here.

 I guess this kind of knocks down the "obscure and unique  materials" theory. It also begs the question of the technical accuracy of the oft repeated blanket statement that "no animals have ever been killed for use in our work".  I think they left off the salient bit about "by us". (Weenie Apologists in my book, but that's the subject of a future post.)  

This quote from an interview that was done after I started blogging on this subject: "What is the best piece of advice you can give other artists?" "Copyright your work! Also strive to be original. It is one thing to be inspired by someone else's work, and another to take someone else's idea and knock it off. Only a true artist knows the difference."

Gosh, do you think they saw me coming?

I find the commercial aspects of their website extremely distasteful: Links between their merch are labeled 'previous product' and 'next product' and everything has an 'add to cart' button and a 'quantity' button. Did they really have to trademark their common phrase business name?  It's all just so patently phony and Marketing 101 and yet they constantly refer to themselves as "artists". 

Working with taxidermy has become very trendy and hip over that last six years or so and some of the work currently being produced is original and absolutely fabulous. Unfortunately, too many are just jumping on the bandwagon and only re-digesting work that we've already seen. Even more unfortunate is that most people DON'T know the difference and actually believe that these folks are doing something original or even well crafted. I suppose it's a testament to their vigorous and aggressive Internet marketing techniques (and lack of moral integrity).

You could say that all is fair in a capitalist society but I'm amazed by the shamelessness of those who claim Victorian influences like Potter and Ploucquet but patently avoid giving proper credit to obvious contemporary influences and have the nerve to make arrogant statements such as "Much like the Victorians before us..." Especially when they give the outward impression of being über-hip/counter-culture/goth-ier than thou/anti-establishment types. But I suppose one shouldn't be surprised by this kind of behaviour coming from anyone who feels (repeatedly) compelled to combine words to create phrases like "genuine taxidermy". On second thought, it would probably be far more devastating if they did refer to you as an 'influence'!

Clearly, few people think twice about sucking concepts and stealing images and research from the Internet without credit. (It's especially amusing when they swipe research details but still can't get their historic facts straight. Do I hear a flurry of desperate scrambling?)  Equally annoying are those who embellish/manufacture their credentials and pad their dates to pass themselves off as somehow more legitimate.

I ask myself, "Now, why can't you just be nice?" and "what's the point of all this cranky, whiny ranting?" Is it just envy over their apparent success? One thing I know for certain: I am loath to share images of my new work lest it be considered fair game for being "drawn" from the same "resource pool". I think the only way to avoid being sucked and buried is to first exhaust all concept variations (how long would that take and is it even possible?) and then to hire a high-end PR firm for representation. I'm truly at a loss and miss discussing my work with other artists. These days one can't even casually mention a specific material on a blog without it becoming instant Crafty Fodder.

Hey, I had the opportunity to get greater exposure (and potential financial success) with a group show at a gallery that I thought I would do anything to get into. Unfortunately, inclusion had nothing to do with the quality or medium of work and everything to do with accepting a (secretly free) membership to a new group that i didn't feel I belonged with.  My work was wanted if I appeared to be a paying joiner but not enough if it meant being given an honorary membership, which are apparently reserved for less threatening? influences.  Point being (and whining aside), I have no problem accepting responsibility for the choices I have made.

As far as I'm concerned, Jeanie M is the mouse girl and Mark Frierson was the resurrectionist who brought back gaffed two-headed chicks and ducklings. Sure, dressing animals as humans and creating gaff freaks has been done before but why would you want to just copy others and go into mass production instead of putting your own personal (and significant) spin on it? (oh yeah, to make money, duh)