The Leader

Media Credit: Stephany Achter

First Xanga, then Myspace. Goodbye Myspace, and hello Facebook. These websites have the most frequented Internet pages by college students and young alike. Many are starting to shy away from the standard and all too often boring, “about me” and beginning to express themselves in a more artsy form through personal deviations. Let’s discuss  DeviantArt (www.deviantart.com).

DeviantArt is the latest art gallery just clicks away rather than miles afar. On the homepage of the site, dozens of examples of artwork are displayed to give any interested passerby or returning visitor a taste of what type of artwork and artists roam the world. Also in the top left-hand corner, is a continuous growing number of how many deviations (pieces of artwork) are submitted daily.

“I think it's cool to see your peers' talents,” said Liz, a student in the University of Wisconsin system. “Sometimes you barely know a person, and then you look at their stuff, and you kind of gain a better insight into what that person is like.”

Many of us probably don’t know, however, that DeviantArt has been around for almost seven years, longer than its rate of popularity. To start observing artwork, one can begin by looking in the categories listed on the homepage, including: traditional art, digital art, photography, customization, literature, artisan crafts, Flash, designs & interfaces, manga/anime, cartoons & comics, anthro, community projects, deviantart-related, resources and scraps.

Don’t be fooled by these broad genres, there are still more sub-groups to each category, enough to narrow down to the exact type of description of artwork one is specifically searching for. In addition, www.deviantart.com offers more than assumed photography. Artists can also express their creativity through words such as poetry, prose, short stories, etc.

When it is finally time to submit a creation, there is an obstacle course of questions to go through before it is submitted. Some of these include: a basic description, title and category type of the artwork to be submitted and whether or not the design is a “deviation” or “scrap”.

As stated on the website, a “deviation” is completed, refined piece of artwork ready to be exhibited by all. A “scrap” is a personal design that is incomplete and will go in a scrapbook rather than the formal gallery. When a piece of artwork is finally published, other artists who do ponder upon the artwork have the option to critique the masterpiece; that is only if criticism is welcomed by the creator.

What makes this particular site so appealing? For the most part, many enjoy the website because of the ability to express their creativity and be recognized for such talents. DeviantArt can also give other artists and observers insight into the personalities of each other.

The site tends to draw the younger crowd and slightly appeals to the “alternative,” technology-fueled lifestyle many college students lead.

“The website in a sense seems to attract one main group of people because of its website look and name,” said Kashfia, a Milwaukee area college student. “I’ve seen a lot of violence and dark artwork on the site, not everything is like that, don’t get me wrong, but a majority of it is.”

The concept of enabling individual artistry online is definitely a big bonus for those experimenting with their crafts. Though when it comes to distributing artwork, there is the threat of copyright infringement. Some say they wish their policy on others freely using the art would be stricter. Others argue that there should be more diversity in the artwork submitted.

Andrea, a University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee freshman, commented on the site’s “overabundance of photography.” She believes this is due to the fact that “anyone with a digital camera thinks what they shoot, most often without thought or intent, is artwork.”

The technical definition of “art” is an ongoing debate among many users.

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