Most people who participate in altered art have probably heard of ATCs, even if you do not make them yourself. As such, you probably know that they are called trading cards for a reason–they are to be traded, never sold. I even wrote an entire document as an introduction to ATCs for new altered artists that was used in my newbie group for quite a while, so this subject is near and dear to my heart. So you can probably imagine that the development of ACEOs was a bit annoying to me (as well as several other prominent altered artists; Lisa Vollrath is furious at people who sell them and refuses to allow the use of any of the materials she sells in their creation…go Lisa!). However, I can’t stop people from trying to make a buck, even when they are doing so by taking something beautiful and turning it into something commercial. As long as they are clearly indicating that the cards they are selling are ACEOs and not ATCs then all I can do is cringe whenever I see one, but I can’t really say much about it.
Jump forward to a post that came through my Google reader for a blog that I subscribe to. I originally subscribed to this person’s blog because I liked the look of her art. I did not realize that her blog was basically one big commercial and she would hardly ever actually muse over anything (which is kind of ironic since the subtitle includes the word “musings of …”). Once I realized this, I had two choices: keep subscribing or unsubscribe. I’m too lazy to unsubscribe, and plus her artwork is nice even if it’s not my cup of tea to constantly promote my money making endeavors, so I decided to continue subscribing. Thus it was that I received a post in my reader today letting all her loyal readers know that she had updated her Ebay shop with additional items. This is pretty common for her (in fact it seems to be all she ever posts on her blog) so I didn’t immediately think much of it. Until I noticed what it is that she’s selling…
This person, who calls herself an altered artist even though she flagrantly disregards the sacredness of one of the sacred institutions of our field (i.e. ATCs), is now selling “prints of my favorite ACEOs & ATCs“. Once can only assume that the ATCs she is making prints of are at least her own to distribute as she sees fit because the alternative is too shocking to even consider. But regardless of whether they are her own artwork or not, the sheer audacity of her actually admitting that she is selling ATCs is what is getting me hot. She’s not even bothering to pretend that she is honoring the spirit of ATCs any longer.
I don’t know about the rest of you, but I personally think people like this are not fit to truly call themselves altered artists, because it’s clear that their focus is not on art at all, but rather on money. Please join me in boycotting the items of all such “artists”, and perhaps posting comments on their blogs that explain the true meaning of ATCs.
Update: The writer whose blog originally prompted this rant contacted me letting me know that she had removed all mention of ATCs from her listings. I admire her integrity in this, and only hope that she, along with all other “artists” who sell ATCs in the guise of “ACEOs” will eventually realize that calling them ACEOs is not changing what they truly are, and is not acceptable. I challenge all altered artists out there to rise up against this practice and let our peers know that they are violating a very sacred rule by selling these.
