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exsequarThis is something I've been wondering for a while.
What on earth is the fascination with icons? What is their appeal? Why are there thousands posted every day on LJ, and probably millions of them in existence by now? (I may exaggerate, but I assure you, it is a massive number) Why do people spend hours of their precious time making little inch square boxes into pieces of art?
I think that the answer is, at least partially, the highly accessible nature of the art form. Any Joe Schmoe can open up Paint, resize a picture and slap a word on it. Now clearly this is the most primitive version of the practice, but regardless it is still incredibly easy to start doing. Anyone can jam out a 100x100 image and call it an icon. It has none of the technical difficulty of making a music video, or the minimum IQ requirements to write something that can be called fanfic (of course there are travesties in both of those arenas as well, but I won't get into that).
Now this begs the question... what is a real icon? And I think the answer as that there is no such thing as a real icon, and in this answer can be found another reason why icons are so popular. "There is no accounting for taste," and this phenomenon can be seen daily as posts of truly hideous "icons" are made again and again on the various communities, yet they still receive a number of positive comments. Sometimes I will see someone using an icon that just hurts my aesthetic sense to look at it, yet there it is. Someone deemed it worthy of representing them on livejournal. And so, this brings me back to the accessibility aspect. Almost anyone can make an icon and find a receptive audience, be it one person, or hundreds. It is a simple way of achieving something, anything, and getting it out there.
Another aspect of the appeal of iconing is that there is always room for improvement, and it is not beyond the realm of possibility to do so. Working on making better icons gives people a purpose, a goal. There is also the natural high that comes from receiving positive feedback on work you've done; and as I stated above, that feedback is ridiculously easy to come by, due to the informal nature of the art form and the kindness of many people on LJ (one of the things I so love about it). So it is an easy way for people to recieve approval for something they have done. This can have a profound impact on a person's psyche, regardless of the superficiality of the reason for the compliments.
The culture of iconing fascinates me, as it has so many aspects; there are the icon makers themselves, but then there are brush and texture makers, cap takers, community moderators, and all sorts of things that go into it. It is an easy way to interact with other people. It's a conversation starter. It's a way of showcasing your interests; I know that my icon posts are a diverse collage of my interests, quite representative of my passions at the time, and that opens a door for other people to relate to me through. In some ways, an icon post is almost a snapshot of the maker's personality.
Yet as with any society or culture, there is an elite. That group of icon makers who just seem to create brilliance with every little box, who have built up their reputation so much that no matter what they post, they will receive gushing praise and adulation. They're the celebrities of our little world. And they're not afraid to emphasize that, which is highlighted by the abundance of literally "elite" icon communities that are out there. There are some names, within each fandom, that are synonymous with "icon genius." As a result, hundreds of people will friend their journals, and everything they say will be responded to enthusiastically. It's just like real world celebrity - someone has a certain talent, and so immediately their personal life comes under scrutiny. It's less intense here on LJ, but it is a very real phenomenon. True, there is an aspect of personality that must come along with it - it seems to me that the truly popular icon makers always are also friendly and entertaining people. But icon making has taken on almost a mythic aura, with people sitting way at the top and smiling down on us lay folk.
Which brings me back to my original point. The deceptive simplicity of the art form makes the lay folk believe they can acheive that status, and many try their hand because they can (just like acting - there are so many struggling actors out there, but only a few make it to celebrity status) and because it is such an open and informal arena. Anyone is welcome to join in.
All that being said, I am very grateful for the culture of iconing here on LJ. It has led me to meet many fascinating and wonderful people. Icons are a window to something greater, symbolic of a larger truth about human nature.
Oh, and they're pretty.
What on earth is the fascination with icons? What is their appeal? Why are there thousands posted every day on LJ, and probably millions of them in existence by now? (I may exaggerate, but I assure you, it is a massive number) Why do people spend hours of their precious time making little inch square boxes into pieces of art?
I think that the answer is, at least partially, the highly accessible nature of the art form. Any Joe Schmoe can open up Paint, resize a picture and slap a word on it. Now clearly this is the most primitive version of the practice, but regardless it is still incredibly easy to start doing. Anyone can jam out a 100x100 image and call it an icon. It has none of the technical difficulty of making a music video, or the minimum IQ requirements to write something that can be called fanfic (of course there are travesties in both of those arenas as well, but I won't get into that).
Now this begs the question... what is a real icon? And I think the answer as that there is no such thing as a real icon, and in this answer can be found another reason why icons are so popular. "There is no accounting for taste," and this phenomenon can be seen daily as posts of truly hideous "icons" are made again and again on the various communities, yet they still receive a number of positive comments. Sometimes I will see someone using an icon that just hurts my aesthetic sense to look at it, yet there it is. Someone deemed it worthy of representing them on livejournal. And so, this brings me back to the accessibility aspect. Almost anyone can make an icon and find a receptive audience, be it one person, or hundreds. It is a simple way of achieving something, anything, and getting it out there.
Another aspect of the appeal of iconing is that there is always room for improvement, and it is not beyond the realm of possibility to do so. Working on making better icons gives people a purpose, a goal. There is also the natural high that comes from receiving positive feedback on work you've done; and as I stated above, that feedback is ridiculously easy to come by, due to the informal nature of the art form and the kindness of many people on LJ (one of the things I so love about it). So it is an easy way for people to recieve approval for something they have done. This can have a profound impact on a person's psyche, regardless of the superficiality of the reason for the compliments.
The culture of iconing fascinates me, as it has so many aspects; there are the icon makers themselves, but then there are brush and texture makers, cap takers, community moderators, and all sorts of things that go into it. It is an easy way to interact with other people. It's a conversation starter. It's a way of showcasing your interests; I know that my icon posts are a diverse collage of my interests, quite representative of my passions at the time, and that opens a door for other people to relate to me through. In some ways, an icon post is almost a snapshot of the maker's personality.
Yet as with any society or culture, there is an elite. That group of icon makers who just seem to create brilliance with every little box, who have built up their reputation so much that no matter what they post, they will receive gushing praise and adulation. They're the celebrities of our little world. And they're not afraid to emphasize that, which is highlighted by the abundance of literally "elite" icon communities that are out there. There are some names, within each fandom, that are synonymous with "icon genius." As a result, hundreds of people will friend their journals, and everything they say will be responded to enthusiastically. It's just like real world celebrity - someone has a certain talent, and so immediately their personal life comes under scrutiny. It's less intense here on LJ, but it is a very real phenomenon. True, there is an aspect of personality that must come along with it - it seems to me that the truly popular icon makers always are also friendly and entertaining people. But icon making has taken on almost a mythic aura, with people sitting way at the top and smiling down on us lay folk.
Which brings me back to my original point. The deceptive simplicity of the art form makes the lay folk believe they can acheive that status, and many try their hand because they can (just like acting - there are so many struggling actors out there, but only a few make it to celebrity status) and because it is such an open and informal arena. Anyone is welcome to join in.
All that being said, I am very grateful for the culture of iconing here on LJ. It has led me to meet many fascinating and wonderful people. Icons are a window to something greater, symbolic of a larger truth about human nature.
Oh, and they're pretty.
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no subject
Date: 2005-07-03 08:08 am (UTC)I completely agree with you about everything. I'm sure there are more than a million icons out there. And I like what you said about the elite icon makers, who become "mini celebrities" here on LJ. It's so true! Everyone friends their journals and that person makes rules and regulations and some even name their stuff "so and so productions" for...icons. But that's great though, like you said, it's such a small form of art that anyone can join, and they are very pretty indeed :)
no subject
Date: 2005-07-03 03:50 pm (UTC)The celebrities thing has always amused me, but it's cool too. It's so true that LJ is like this mini little representation of the world.
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Date: 2005-07-03 11:23 am (UTC):)
(semi GIC)
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Date: 2005-07-03 12:11 pm (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2005-07-04 04:21 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-07-04 12:11 pm (UTC)And they are pretty. Especially yours ;) Had to get that in there *grins*
no subject
Date: 2005-07-04 05:52 pm (UTC)Thanks! I'm glad I made sense at 3 AM! Hehe