Doing a bit of poking around, I discover that the artist in charge for the makeup art goes by the name of Kabuki. Reading up on some information about him and the music video, I discover that who ever wrote the MTV blog entry on the matter described him as "an unimpeachable legend and GOD in the field". This completely put me off and caused me to pause in reading any more for several moments. As an artist, mind you in a totally different field, I'm all for uplifting and supporting some one's hard work but to describe them as a god? That I have a problem with. It has nothing to due with jealousy. It's the simple fact that artists are human and though we choose to ignore the fact that we have egos, our hubris can get out of hand. Giving praise for a job well done is all well and good but to go so far as saying a person is "a GOD in the field", eventually the ego is going to go through the roof.
Wanting a better idea of Kabuki's work, did a little more research. Admittedly as I looked at images of some of what he has done, his skills are indeed amazing but what bugged me is the fact that many of the examples I could find focus on showing his use of a lot of bright colors and fantasy based imagery. Of course the fact that he has worked with Lady Gaga and on Disney's Tron: Legacy probably didn't help. It took me a good while to finally find an image of his use of subtle colors on a fashion model. Of course that picture was used on some one's fashion based blog entry (called Zipper) from the fall of 2009. I find it a little sad that so many people want to focus so much on one aspect of his work and not his more subtle work which is equally as beautiful. He has wonderful work but would I describe Kabuki as a 'God'? No. He is just a man who is really damn good at what he does. Is there other makeup artists who are better then him? More then likely and I would love to see their work as well.
I imagine guru is a better word, but I don;t find a problem with it. I define musicians as gods all the time. I've called myself a god also. I think the ego can work other ways and if you have a belief in God, one should not get it confused with the word god. How are we to know if someone is truly godlike in their ability without being in their head when they are creating? It's more a philosophical question, but I'm sure the person who wrote the entry did not think much of it and wasted a perfectly good opportunity to admire the man's talent in a more appropriate manner.
ReplyDeleteWas talking to another friend about it and he had pointed out that no one in his time ever called DiVinci a god. I think what I was trying to get at is the fact that being praised and appreciated for your creations is good but is being put up on a pedestal THAT high? Probably not the best thing especially if someone comes along and is better then you. Of course it's all a matter of opinion and the fact that the term 'god' is easily bounced around now a days to describe things.
DeletePraise is good, but either inflating or disrupting the normal flow of ego can be dangerous. Then again, look how far ahead of his time DaVinci was. He was a god that no one noticed until later, so to speak. Maybe we can't evaluate people until they're dead and done doing what they were going to do.
DeleteLOL Oh gees that just makes me wonder what people would say about me.
DeleteThey would say, 'Man, she REALLY liked coffee, didn't she?'.
ReplyDeleteJerry you suck on so many levels LOL
DeleteWould think more of "Man, she drank a lot of coffee... wait is that a paintbrush in that cup?"