Aside:
Someone needs to create an Mediawiki extension where 'my avatar' can fight with 'your avatar', each given different powers, weapons and abilities on an almost random basis/edit-count/who-we-know, so we can push angry electrons around the internet and work these disputes out; not get all tied up over figures of speech. In fact, it should be automated so we don't even have to do it ... just run a script and see who wins.This Shankbone thing is becoming ridiculous ... "writer". He has gone from someone that uploads snapshots on a website to a 'photographer' and a blogger to a 'writer'.
With notoriety ... which if I was him (
in his frame of mind), I would be working hard. In New York, he will probably make the next step to celebrity. There are a lot of people who buy 'bad boy' and laugh at the pettiness of the Pee-dia. I could imagine an exhibition of large blows of his "porn film set" series. He could easily print to canvas and call them "art" (there is this inkjet technology where you can print vast gallery-sized blowups of digital photographs), later do exhibitions of famous people ... and at around the same time the first best-of-the-blog book.
If I was huck and raz, I would have him signed up as an agent ... 15-20% commission. If I was David, I would try speaking to Paul or Salman again, and hold out for a more established agent (unless, of course, Huck or Raz are).
Come on guys ... from their myspace:QUOTE
Huck & Raz
Promoting books and illiteracy since 1998
One editor, one agent
Just what he needs ... are we watching the next step of self-promotion in real time?
The problem is he needs to work on his photography a lot more (
and his consistency promoting the "by_David_Shankbone.jpg" brand) ... not necessarily making it better (
the cheapo paparazzi stuff is really not very good and he needs to stop taking 'school girl pictures of "me with famous people mum"). I mean not trying, making it look crappier and casual, even more amateur, would work better ... "
the cult of the amateur portraying the cult of the celebrity".
He need to have his ass kicked (
rather than prodded) a bit by a good, established art director/editor/galleriste; and not his dick sucked by another sycophantic friend or amateur. Play around with some lenses and angles. Drop ANY pretention like claiming his wiki-work was an "art project, darling" (it wasn't). Step up to the next league.
He has access to very good material which, unless he works it, wont last for ever ... and he is wasting right now. There are too many paparazzi chasing too little money. I doubt he has the muscle for that life. It is the wrong way to go. Heading for the galleries, the high end of the pink dollar, La La Land etc is.
In a sense, he is actually a bit trapped by all the psychotic faux academic administrators on the Pee-dia and at having to pretend to play nice and be more conservative than any real adult would or needs to be. He should really say, "fuck it ... this is who I am, this is what I want, I am using the Wiki" and go for it. Stop bothering about the silly kids Wikigame. And it is very silly. Play a grown ups game now for all it is worth.
Big canvases of disheveled beds in banal, tacky, empty porno sets at art prices, a more affordable range of limited edition prints. The idea could sell. There are lots of relatives and precedents in the art gallery photographic world. With the subject he has had access to, it is a real shame he has not got a half-decent book to send around.
In fact, once he "makes it", which I actually think he has a reasonable chance of doing so, he should even turn back around and bite the hand that fed him: be honest about how he used it, care about how stupid people are to give their lives to it be sucked in and exploited for nothing but tell the world how nasty it can be ... milking it for the sympathy factor (e.g. full of crazy stalkers and how it nearly destroyed his life, something should be done about it etc). Shanker does Oprah ...
If he could become REALLY famous, then he could have some real fun, like juxtaposing his genital and excretion work with his celeb work; split screen 'pissing goats and starlets', 'Perez and his Hebrew incontinence pants' ... be really provocative. It would not work at this stage but once he was established, they would be lining up to be offended by him. Cock_and_ass_by_David_Shanbone.jpg ... yes, its doable.
Of course, then 'psychotic faux academics' will have a whole generation of "wannabe_David_Shankbones_by_wannabe_David_Shankbones.jpg" photographers on the Pee-dia to contend with trying to copy him and be even more outrageous to compete, like all the Corinne Day copies after 'heroin chic' phase. But, just by dint of all his contributions, he has a good chance of becoming the first person ('
Bo Whale apart), to use the Pee-dia to gain celebrity and turn it into a good living. There is probably only room for one or two people to do so before it become old news. He could be one, the other could be a serious author/critic. Sadly a comicbook artist would come way down the list ...
I don't know the guy at all. I don't know the history. I don't know what he "deserves" but, like they say, "work makes free ... and the wiki brings out the worst in people".
The lesson is, efforts bring rewards despite how awful you might or might not be in real life.
This post has been edited by Cock-up-over-conspiracy: