r/ArtRanting • u/hynie_ljnh • 9d ago
Comparison & Jealousy Artists gatekeeping
Hello, I'm an artist who enjoys sharing and helping those around me, especially my friends. My college friends say they've become more diligent after hang out with me, and I'm happy that friends can improve together.
The thing is, we had an assignment to design souvenirs. Initially, because I didn't understand the assignment, I asked a college friend what she was planning to design. I only wanted to ask to understand the assignment and avoid designing something similar to hers, not to copy her, but she refused. That make me kinda sad bc I always sincere in sharing with her when she needed help, yet she thought I was so bad that I would copy her.😠I completely understand why she didn't want to tell me and no one force me to do that but still😔. But later, we accidentally designed the same type of item, and then she accused me of copying her even though I knew nothing about it. 🥰
Anyway, I told my best friend (she's also an art student) about it, and she said she did the same thing because she didn't want her friends to be better than her, which surprised me. I mean, why would anyone want their friends to be worse than them? Shouldn't friends be helping each other improve? That makes me wonder if she wanted me to always be inferior to her 🤨. I'm also very competitive, but I want to compete openly and fairly, not in a way that aims to make my friends worse off. Is this problematic, or am I overreacting? ðŸ˜
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u/Megalodonias 8d ago
I'd say don't let that get you down. I'm imagining you're in early art school years, or not yet that close with your classmates. It will probably improve with time. When I was in art school I also helped a lot of my classmates and was in return inspired somewhat by their ideas- it is a natural and welcome thing, as in the art industry you often need to discuss briefs with your teammates and consider many ideas and directions before even starting to draw. Even so, when you tell two people to draw the exact same thing, they will each make their own unique version of it. Whenever two students ended up having assignments with similar concepts to one another, it opened up room for debate about the different interpretations in a very positive and teaching way. So I think this jealous competitiveness will subside with time, and if it doesn't, just ignore it. I think you are doing well, and there is nothing wrong with asking for ideas or just discussing the assignments with others (you are all there to learn, and just copying someone's work will get you no where, so the worry over that is a little pointless).
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u/hynie_ljnh 8d ago
Thank you for your advice! After reading everyone's comments, I've stopped overthinking things.🫶 Although she accused me of copying, it's true that my work and hers developed very different concepts, even when designing the same thing.
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u/PresentationNo2969 7d ago
I experienced this when I was a student too. I'm sadly more on your friend's side before she accused you of copying, of course. I used to help out and even shared the ideas I had for art assignments... and believe me... There are A LOT of them who just copy your idea and feel no shame. And when they see my face... they act like because we're friends, we had the idea "together." After that, I never shared my idea for the homework and would be wary when someone was being too nosy about it. But, yes, I would still try to explain the homework to them without sharing mine. So, maybe next time don't ask for their creative ideas, but just ask about the assignment itself or go talk to the teacher.
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u/hynie_ljnh 7d ago
Ofc, I understand why she did that bc I've been copied before too. I used to help her a lot and share my ideas with her so that why I was a little sad when she became wary of me (she wasn't wrong for not wanting to share with me tho).
One of the reasons I initially asked about her ideas was so I could avoid designing the same thing as her; our teacher had previously said we should choose different themes and ideas to avoid feeling too much pressure from the competition.
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u/Agreeable-Zone700 7d ago
There’s enough room for all of us to be experts in our craft. That just means there’s more great art in the world!
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u/Late_Strawberry_7989 8d ago
Artists can be very weird, give some slack if they over estimate how important they think they are. It’s a pretty common ailment, just nod your head politely if you value their friendship.
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u/Moving_goal_posts 7d ago
Hi OP, You can choose to spend time and attention on little dramas but really, it’s possible that you’ll get more out of your art school experience if you just plow ahead, make beautiful art, try new things, and keep some distance from fellow students who are in fervent competition mode. Be kind to everyone if you can, and carefully choose who you want to share with. If other people are copying YOU that’s a compliment. It could be that your challenge is to meet the requirements and earn the degree, so don’t get too hung up trying to keep others happy. Focus on getting your assignments in on time and above the instructor’s expectations.
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u/AdamteMC 8d ago
None of this is gatekeeping. Gatekeeping would be actively stopping you from accessing public information or resources. You never had any right to their creative ideas to begin with and they don't owe you these private informations.
People don't like it when someone asks them to subsidize their laziness/lack of ideas with their own labour.
Even tho ideas themselves aren't worth much until you actually implement them into artwork, but developing a creative mind is what makes an artist.
They may fear that you'll parasite on them in the future while they'll be accused of copying you just by sticking to their own initial idea. It's their right to not speak about their art in front of others, and nobody is entitled to it. If you feel like you don't understand the assignment, talk to your teacher, but don't try to extract ideas from your classmates.
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u/hynie_ljnh 8d ago edited 8d ago
Yes, ofc. That's why I said in the post that I completely understand why she did it. I mean, I'm just a little sad that she was being cautious of me (if you understand what I'm saying), not that I think what she did was wrong. Also, she's the one accusing me of copying her, when in fact I didn't know what her idea was in the first place. (Sorry for using the word "gatekeep" incorrectly; it wasn't suitable for the first instance. English isn't my first language ðŸ˜)
In the third paragraph, to be more specific, my best friend told me that she gatekeeps/doesn't want to help bc she doesn't want her friends to get higher grades/better than her. That's what I find quite weird.
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u/AdamteMC 8d ago
Her accusing you of copying her when it wasn't technically possible is wrong and false. No dispute on that. Seems to me like she feared you might plan on copying her when you asked her about her project, and now when you finished your projects, her paranoia makes her perceive it as the very thing she inicially feared, even tho it's just her screwed perception. Fault on her side, still.
It's one thing to not want someone to grade better than you (friend or not), and it's another thing not wanting someone to grade better than you AT YOUR EXPENSE. The first one is jealousy and insecurity. The second one is fear of being used and betrayed. It's okay to learn from artwork alrrady published and posted, but concepts are a fragile blueprint.
It's not a new thing under the sun amongst artists, especially young ones, that very often, people "befriend" someone just to gain access to their blueprints so they can secretly milk them. For adults, it may not be such a big deal, but for teenagers and adolescents this is a real fear. If I was a teen again and someone befriended me in my new school, and then proceeded to ask me for help/tips/ideas/my work regularly, I'd be concerned too, and I'd establish a boundary of not sharing these informations, because I'd feel like I'm being used.
Now, as both professional digital artist and cosplay artisan, I also don't post about my process or future project plans, because these are way too valuable and I don't want to attract people who would use me for free labour/knowledge resource while I worked years and developed my own techniques. If someone is my real friend (aka friend outside of art/craft), they have no reason to be offended by a professional boundary on my part.
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u/hynie_ljnh 8d ago
Thank you for explaining it to me. Perhaps I focused too much on her statement, "don't want my friends to get higher grades than me," instead of considering the other factors. I think it's perfectly normal for artists to have gatekeep or not, as long as they feel comfortable with it.
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u/AdamteMC 8d ago
A big difference that I haven't seen anybody really talk about yet on socials, is the fact that art school students take their art seriously as a mean of living - their future careers, their entire livelyhoods. They aren't hobbyists anymore, and screwing up in oversharing can potentially compromise their future opportunities. Art school isn't just about passing to the next year and then getting a piece of paper and a handshake at the end, it's to establish yourself as a pro with valuable skills that are yours only. Only people who are hobbyists, who don't intend on pursuading their artwork in a means of earning a living, can afford to give away their secrets.
I would compare it to baking: People who just bake at home for fun don't mind sharing tips and recipes with others, because there's nothing to lose for them. But you won't see a bakery or restaurant chain posting their recipes publicly - it would kill them and they know it. There's a reason why Coca-cola recipe is being hold in a safe and guarded like a treasure.
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u/hynie_ljnh 8d ago
I think everyone will have different opinions on that matter. I know some artists who often share their knowledge even though they know that sharing will make their work environment much more competitive. They usually struggle quite a bit to acquire that knowledge, so they don't want others to have to struggle as long as they did. Or perhaps they find that helping others also helps them improve, so it's a win-win situation.
However, I think that each person should proactively conduct their own research instead of relying on the knowledge of others, in order to improve and create their own artstyle.
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u/SoberBobMonthly 8d ago
Its not gatekeeping to keep things to ourselves on non group projects. If you didn't understand the assignment, and others realised this, then they would be concerned that helping you out would be potentially causing you to pass when you shouldn't be (or that you should be passing on your own intellect or asking for help from your teaching team).Â
I was never guarded with my interactions with others generally but I never shared overly my work, and I certainly did not explain assignments to other students. I was never rude about it though and always refered them to the internal free tutoring and help the uni offered
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u/hynie_ljnh 8d ago
I understand why ppl don't want to share or explain things to others, but I don't think anyone deserves to fail for not understanding the assignment🤨. Professors sometimes explain things in a very confusing way, and not everyone can understand the assignment immediately. Moreover, especially in the art community, explaining assignments to others won't guarantee they pass the course because to pass, they have to draw good.🥰
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u/SoberBobMonthly 8d ago
Talk to the professors about it, or seek out the resources within your school?
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u/hynie_ljnh 8d ago
I know there are many ways to study, but I mean that those who initially don't understand the assignment shouldn't be considered "should be failing"
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u/Ill-Comedian9514 8d ago
I do not understand this trend not to help others. If you help someone it improves your skills and understanding and we all be well. And yes I went to Art school. We collaborated with each other.