Here is a link to scans of Creative Illustration by Andrew Loomis, 1947.
From the closing chat:
Let us as artists, then, feel that we have a trust. Let us be sincere, if for no other reason than to give our craft character. Let us choose to reproduce beauty rather than the sordid, if only to elevate the standards of beauty. If we seek an audience to our way of expression, let us make the things we have to say worth while. When we have a choice, let us build, not tear down. If we are endowed with the vision to encompass beauty, let us be grateful, but not selfish about it. To live and work only to please one's self, using art as a means of display for uncontrolled temperment and undisciplined license, for divorcing oneself from the normal and ethical standards of life, to my mind is wrong. Art belongs to life, and essentially to the common, everyday man.
3 comments:
Love the quote. And I love the look of your blog! Very nice.
Great inspirational quote Karen, though I disagree slightly in that there is definitely a place in the wide realm of art for work that focuses on the sordid. Portraying the less-than-beautiful can be a highly valuable social comment (look at George Grosz for example). The key thing is that it must have a humanizing element, a poignancy that touches the heart and motivates the viewer.
I agree with you about the humanizing element John. Well put. There is a certain innocence to Loomis' end chat - but it is from a long gone era and from one where illustration was a more powerful visual media than it is now. I think he was trying to encourage those he was trying to reach to use that power responsibly and for the greater good. But if you focus strictly on the impact of illustration on the children's market this quote makes more sense.
Thanks for the dialog!
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