A great reason to buy something!

Many thanks CNH!

Hello Anbesivam, Don't get me wrong, I like Dran work for what it is, but I would prefer to see it in a book, magazine or newspaper and then put it away. Saying that I don't even have much against it as a poster or print - whatever you want to call it rottenredrooster....

I'll try and explain my short remark a little more -

Anbesivam - Your two statements are interesting and the lines can seem blurred between all "Art forms" - Photography, Designer and even Poets are all definitely artists, you don't need to convince me. But unfortunately we live in a world where we categorise things so in the traditional sense of the word 'artist' we tend to mean "visual artist", so for this discussion we can rule out musicians and actors, writers etc. And just talk about Graphic Designers, Photographers and Illustrators. So you could say that as Dran is a Illustrator this makes him an artist by default. Much the same could be said of a logo designer who does packaging in the supermaket, is the logo designer an artist?

However I don't think him just being an illustrator is enough to make him an artist in the fore mentioned "traditional sense" - now this is down to what we expect from an artist. You mention his early work causes an - 'evoking a sense of revulsion and unease in the viewer'. For me I disagree... His stylistic characters in his comic book fashion, take away from any message or feeling he's trying to convey, which is normally a very literal and easy message about culture. Saying nothing we don't know already but we're going to be told about it anyway! I personally think you tend to get better social commentary on the Simpsons. Obviously for you, you get much more from his work. So maybe i'm just being a snob about it all.

I don't really agree with you that his technique is what makes him an artist, as you say - (' his approach to his work, his psyche, the processes he uses, they are all things we recognise with artists' ) , If this was the case we would then just hang any art technicians' work or comic artist that is good with an airbrush in the Tate. You also mention his psyche - I just don't see it, not in a very developed way or with much depth - it just come across as a simple narrative or a gag (yes sometimes a dark gag) he has thought up, that he then technically executes in his comic style which is nice and easy to get! Sometimes I feel this work is so whimsical it just becomes patronising, he gives a sense he can really try to teach us something with his pictures he's really opening our eyes... but to me it's all just very surface and shallow when judged as a artist. So we need to be careful in what we hold in high esteem.

There has to be history, emotion, progress and it has to challenge the viewer. Now some Graphic designers do do this - they challenge the art of the day. Graphic designers of the Minimalist movement and before them the Bauhaus movement definitely did, and they do transcend their discipline as designer to an "Artist". They broke boundaries, shaped the fashions of the day and it could even be argued they changed culture, It challenged people's thoughts. I don't get any merits like these from Dran's work and that is why I would personally call him an illustrator (and a good illustrator at that!). He won't then be expected to challenge anyone or change anything and then his work doesn't seem so patronising!

Sorry i'm just blabbering on, we could just say, like someone above did, art is whatever you perceive it to be! Anyhow we both agree on Gary Larson being great, maybe he's an artist who should hang in the Tate! - I'll shut up now!!!

Look at Hirst's "spot painting" without thinking that it is an Hirst' work, so what it is? a nice but expensive tablecloth...?!

"His satirical street art and subversive epigrams combine dark humor with graffiti done in a distinctive stencilling technique. Such artistic works of political and social commentary have been featured on streets, walls, and bridges of cities ...." This definition (except for "stencil technique") may be valid for dran? for me yes! This is a Wikipedia' definition for Mr. B! and someone says that dran is not an artist?!

Dran
Based in Toulouse, Dran is a multi talented artist who has spent his whole life talking through images.  At the age of 8, he was blown away when discovering a classmate’s sketchbook and started to draw too, in class, at home and on the street. He has never stopped since.
 
An avid comic-book fan, Dran saw cartoonists such as Richard Corben, Dave McKean, Katsuhiro Otomo and Bill Sienkiewicz as role models while growing up, appreciating both their talent for drawing and their dark humour, similar to his own perception of reality. As a teenager graffiti became his second big love, giving him the same feeling and adrenalin that comic books had provided earlier in his life.
During art school, Dran began to travel abroad and paint with international artists when he wasn’t busy designing flyers, record sleeves and executing commissioned jobs. He also started working on more personal projects, like building ephemeral installations in abandoned factories. After spending years doodling sketches whenever possible, he published six successful books of his hilarious everyday life observations. In 2006, the young artist also started expressing his art on recycled cardboard boxes, using these symbols of consumerism and waste as a canvas to express his view on modern society. Last but not least, in 2010 Dran was invited by Banksy for two simultaneous solo shows at Pictures on Walls in London.
 
Balancing humour, emotion and poignancy in his artwork, Dran aims to bring out a human quality, hence the central role played by his characters. As an artist always in movement, working both independently and with his crew, the Da Mental Vaporz, his body of work can be seen through a wide variety of media, including installations, large scale murals, paintings, drawings, publications and advertising campaigns.

Dran is not an artist, he is a super ARTIST!

Good stuff I'm glad its sold I was tempted myself.

I've just receive mine and I agree that it looks definitely better in the flesh!

Has anyone else still not received theirs?

Is graphic design art is an oft-discussed subject...here's what some pontificators think:

"There is a basic difference between modern Graphic Designing and Fine Arts. This difference is the main root cause why Graphic Design to date has not been able to capture the respect and a higher aesthetic appreciation as a True or Pure Art form, and not being taken seriously.

The difference lies mainly in the mind or psychology of the creator. In case of Fine Art the creator primarily creates to satisfy his or hers own need of expression without any consideration to its acceptance to the public. Fine Art serves the purpose of a language which the artist uses to present his thoughts more clearly for he is incompetent to express as effectively in any other communicating medium such as verbal communication, writing something down, or even through his facial or bodily gestures. Thus though it may seem that Fine Art is a selfish self satisfying act, it is in its truest nature a new medium which an artist uses as an alternative medium of communication.

Classical Communication Paradigm

Source - Message - Receiver

Receiver - Message (feedback) - Source

In the case of Fine Art primarily it is seen that it is only a one way communication thus it is not a communication process at all but an expression only.

In the case of Graphic Design the creator of the Message is not the main creator of the finished Message. Here the creator is primarily a source who has a particular need to put across a message to a certain targeted group of people with a specific intention to generate a favorable feedback. Aesthetics is secondary effectiveness is the primary need for the success of this type of message. Thus it is a biased message. The source gives this Message or the idea of the Message to a person to formulate it into an effective conceptualized idea easily understood by the targeted group with assured result in case of favorable feedbacks. This message unlike Fine Art creates only one interpretation.

This makes it clear that the psychological mind frame behind Graphic Design is not that of self expression and self satisfaction. It is highly dependent on feedback thus in its very nature it is a true or pure communication process rather than an expression only.

So to decide what is Fine Art and what is Graphic Design is and why Graphic Design is not called a true or pure Art depends upon the psychology of the creator. Thus one must always remember its initial reason behind the very existence."

And then there's Warhol.

Has anyone received theirs and considers that it doesn't look better in the flesh?

It turns out mine's been in the kitchen since Thursday and my good lady forgot to tell me. Looks great, can't wait to get it framed and up.

Anyone wanting to sell Art Thief or I Love You yet?

It surprises me that so many bought it without liking it, but now, to their surprise, it looks better than they expected.

Image notwithstanding, MBW actually has pretty fantastic quality, and his prints look great in person.

no. a print can still look great even with a horrible image.

people hate MBW b/c he is a hack. However, the hack crap that he produces is of utmost quality. Gotta give his camp of people credit where it is due.

 How ?