Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Sigh! (EDITED)

EDIT (above the dotted line) - Well, I've received a new email... apparently Blogger WONT be making the previously mentioned changes. FigureStack, which is about learning figurative drawing and painting, will not have to 'hide' its contents behind a privacy screen. The usual Blogger warning screen will suffice, it seems. I'm thankful that reason has prevailed - thank you Blogger!

---------------------------------------------------------------

Google says it'll start censoring blogs that contain sexually explicit or graphic nude images, and that my blog i.e. Figurestack may be affected. Even though I can't be accused of the former kind, the figure studies here could be interpreted as graphic - since they include nudes :( Well, how am I to study the human figure if not in the nude! However, Google also says that it'll "still allow nudity presented in artistic, educational... contexts", but I wonder if someone will actually go through these blogs to determine which is which. The very reason I post these is to share with fellow artists (apart from general figure-art lovers), like they do with their own work - so that we may learn from each other. Its not that anyone can access this without a fair warning - blogger has a warning page for that. Additionally, I've put up a warning statement in the blog header. There are loads of teaching material here which could be of use to someone, and if google decides to make these private, the exchange of learning will stop. I hope they will be more discerning, and leave Figurestack unaffected. Otherwise, from Mar 23 onwards, goodbye to Figurestack as you have known it.