Quote:
Originally Posted by Ivan Berryman
I did not decide to 'destroy a piece of history'. The owner of the signature commissioned me to do the drawing on it which, incidentally, boosted its value and it was immediately re-sold at a considerable profit. One happy customer.
Doing drawings on pre-signed sheets is common practise in the professional world. Nic Trudgian does it and so do many, many other top artists. Would you like to have a go at them, too? I do what I do because I am commissioned to do it.
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With regard to the above point, it makes no difference whether one is commissioned to do something or not, you don't have to accept commissions if you feel it is something that should not be done, and you should feel that way if you have any sense of history. Accepting a commission is not compulsory.
It should be obvious that drawing on a significant piece of history is not something many people are going to look kindly on, and the fact that it is not the first time it has ever been done does not make it any easier to swallow. Would you paint a mural on the Pyramids, put a cartoon of Johannes Gutenberg on the frontispiece of Gutenberg Bible, or perhaps tickle up the Magna Carta a bit with a nice border around its edges if someone offered you a tenner to do so?
Pointing out that 'others do it too' is not going to make it any more palatable either, nor is the fact that you are taking money for doing so, which is tantamount to saying 'I was only following orders'. And where have we heard that defence before? So yes, I personally would have a pop at others who are doing it, you don't have to ape them, you could be better than that.
Disapproving of the defacing of things of significant historic interest is nothing to do with a need to grow up, or be professional. We do not have to agree to do it if we are asked, so if you feel your character has been assassinated, then you have to admit that you are doing a good job of providing the ammunition for such an assassination, by indulging in that kind of thing.
If people like your paintings and you are selling them, then good luck to you, I hope you sell loads of them I honestly do, some of them are very cool. But really, you don't have to indulge in defacing artifacts just because people ask you to. What happens if historians wish to X-Ray such a document in future, or perhaps radio carbon date it to discover more facts or corroborate some event - now they can't, because they'll detect that it was made the same time as an HB pencil and putty rubber which you bought last year.
As you say, 'one happy customer', but on the other side of the coin, thousands of unhappy historians. Think about it.
Al