I am not shy about my admiration of Randy Milholland. His web comic, Something Positive, has kept me in stitches for years, and I have several pieces of original art gracing my apartment.
So tonight, Randy posts about that idiot Todd Goldman (aka Todd Goliath), who lovingly gave the world “boys are stupid throw rocks at them” and other inane, Hot Topic-esque items, courtesy his company David & Goliath.
Only, it appears that Todd Goliath is a thief. His inane items actually tend to be rather clever and funny pieces of art that he quite literally traces over (via what appears to be MSPaint, ruining any artistry), maybe slightly modifies, signs as his own, and then throws up on a tshirt or sells in a gallery for thousands of dollars – and trust me, Lichtenstein he ain’t.
Purple Pussy is the latest victim in this trend (he’s done Lenore, too), and thankfully the creator is aware and trying to do something, anything about it. And part of that is spreading the word, so I’m doing my wee part.
I’ll be the first to admit I have issues with some of the copyright and intellectual property laws in our country, and I’d like to see it all catch up to the 21st century and our technology. But this isn’t the same thing – this isn’t about getting art from artist to patron/fan, this is about one person blatantly ripping off another and claiming work they didn’t do as their own.
One of the things that will set me off, in a classroom setting, more than just about anything else, is catching a student cheating. Not just because I believe it devalues the student’s notion of academia, but because it’s insulting to the person who originally put in the work and effort. This situation triggers that same outrage.