The New York Times produced this video profile of Texas courtroom sketch artist Gary Myrick.
The survival of the profession depends on the prohibition of cameras in the courtroom. As cameras get less obtrusive, those prohibitions are eroding.
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| Defense witness in the Cullen Davis Trial, 1977. Art by Gary Myrick |
With the gradual disappearance of courtroom art, something else is lost. "Illustration is storytelling," Myrick says. "The difference between a camera in the courtroom and an artist might be the difference between just a cold, dry factual transcript, as opposed to a novel."
(Direct link to video) via BoingBoing
Previously on GurneyJourney: Jury Duty
8 comments:
This makes me wonder what future I'll find as someone who's just taken the pursuit of an art career, without being backed up by prestigious academies or anything but passion and will... If a man of this skill is left behind...
Looks more like a '59 Caddy to me.........
sad that a man of his ability is out of work
Why is he not going on with portraits and selling them? With his capacities, it might be just a change of gears!?
Sad. But I suppose that particular field of journalistic illustration was pretty specific, and it might be tough to make the jump and get established in another field. Maybe this coverage will help him.
I also think he makes a good point about something be lost with the switch to photography. A good artist can capture and convey some things that a camera can't, even in the hands of a good photographer.
The same fate is awaiting editorial cartoonists. In 2008, I began keeping a list of my colleagues who had lost their jobs. On March 31, 2009, I wrote down the name of the cartoonist at the Columbia (S.C.) State, who was number 41 on my list. Two days later, I became number 42. I had been the editorial cartoonist for the Richmond Times-Dispatch for 30 years and three months. Luckily for me, I had two syndicated comic strips. Many of my colleagues weren't as fortunate. Today, there are truly only a handful of full-time newspaper cartoonists on staff. I doubt any will be left within the next few years.
I'm reminded of the newspaper sketch artists of the early 1900s. In his autobiography Cyrus Baldridge tells of how one of his art school instructors would be summoned in the middle of class, drop everything, and rush off to draw a fire or a crime scene for the next edition. I bet that was a great job.
He's an Urban landscape artist & plein air painter waiting for that next opportunity. With his talent he can teach, be a portrait artist or illustrator. I hope he finds another path to travel to remain successful.
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