Purist Ramblings: Art Without the Artist!

Hey, Earthlings, it's 2015 and let's cheer for what I hope will be another awesome year of tiny, rubber, minifigures of all sorts!  Wooooo!  I can't wait!  But, first, check out the new gloss of paint!  Say hello to The Keshi Drop!  I know it's not much, but I think it was time I do something, even if it's not a ton, and pull a little away other intellectual properties, their logos, and all that.  I've gotten a lot of attention last year, and I owe it to everyone to do on the merits of my writing and posts and not on the shadow of another toy line we all love, but I have more New Year Resolutions than just that.

I want to cover bigger issues.  Now, now, yes, they will all still be about keshi and minifigure greatness.  I just want to tackle bigger discussion points in our community.  I want to do more than just toy reviews.  Sure, they will still be there, but I think that job is already filled by so many talented people.  I don't need to add to that.  I can do something I feel more passionate about than passing on information really anyone else could find on the Internet.  I want to push the boundaries.

And I want to do that... now!

What if your favorite musician blurted something offensive out on Twitter?  What if your favorite actress acted really poorly and rudely at a charity event?  What if your favorite sports player was exposed as some sort of criminal?  The question I ask is:  Can you enjoy the art without the artist?

It won't take you too long in a community of a particular category to find out the ones crowds will love or hate for various reasons, the keshi community is no different.  Everyone is different and everyone has different degrees of tolerance, for example, so I wonder if it's possible to be a toy maker and sell your product to people that don't like you.  Is there a Walmart effect?  Could a product could be too good to pass up?  I think in many possibilities there are, but many not in designer toys.  Our community is a niche within a niche within a Russian egg doll wrapped in an enigma inside a box.  It might be small and refined enough, that personal connection can be made, and thusly, can an inferior product be more successful when the artist behind it is generally loved by the community?


I've talked to a few people on the matter.  Granted, it should have been more, but I did find some common threads.  I've found in cases where the product wasn't a necessity in life and generally considered small, like a mom and pop store, feelings of the producer of the product were valued more.  I find it strange, yet not.  How does a big box store like Walmart get the pass, when they have possibly the worst reputation in the States?  I'm not sure they always do, but certainly, when the individual customer has a bigger say or impact, you'll find a stronger connections, positive or negative.   At least, with the small numbers I have, that's my guess.

I'm not going to call out any names.  This isn't a witch hunt or a drama stunt to get attention, so I hope everyone respects that and leaves names out of comments as well, but the keshi community has there share of polarizing people.  There are some artists out there that have a well of talent, and really could be the next big thing, if they only knew how to stay out of some nasty flame wars.  Maybe it's inescapable.  Everyone deserves to have an opinion and to voice it.  Whether to stand behind your product or your beliefs at a given time might be something for business psychology class, or something.

Regardless, something may be said that the keshi community, your product demographic, is rather small.  It's been said by various artists that sales numbers have been consistent for the last few years.  One could gather that's it's only growing by the number of people leaving the hobby.  Under that, one could suggest there is less room for error.  Each offended or insulted person is a larger percentage of the demographic.

To be honest, I have found myself turned away from some artists' work because of their online interactions.  I, unfortunately, found it so unsettling I couldn't clear the stigma away from the product.  I knew it was of that artist.  I could notice, or I felt I noticed, design choices made from the mind of that artist and I couldn't assume the product more mine than theirs.  Even with a gorgeous collection from a very talented hand, I couldn't stomach supporting the work, and I actively make a mental note when looking at independent keshi I am unfamiliar with just to make sure it's not from them.

Luckily, in the year I have been following this hobby, I am holding this strike on only one artist, that will remain unnamed.  Everyone else I've seen or interacted with, through forums or videos on Youtube, have been nothing short of amazing.  Even a character like the Super Sucklord is a treat and an obviously passionate artist, hungry to push his art form to the very limit.  And guys like Mark from Mystical Warriors of the Ring have showed the blog here patience and understanding that certainly earns my respect and fandom.

What about the rest of you?  I am excited to hear your thoughts on it as well!  Do you find it hard to enjoy work from people you don't particularly like?  Please, share your thoughts and opinions below, but please don't bring up any names unless it's positive.  I don't want that sort of weird, tabloid, attention.

So that's it, Earthlings!  That's the first post of 2015!  It was a blast and a honor blogging it up last year and I can't wait to do more of the same this year.  It's a brand new year with a brand new name, but it'll be same old nonsensical, rambling, borderline brainless, SpiderEarth giving all the insides to this awesome keshi hobby.  Happy New Years, everyone!