Rowan Oats

Sickos selection is back!

Over 900 pages and 100k words of filthy art, comics and fiction for $25. The last edition of this bundle raised $58k, all split equally by the artists with no publisher’s cut or middleman. Sale runs until June 5th – and then it’s gone! Past editions have covered people’s rent, medical bills, moving costs and other emergency expenses, and it's an incredible way to show direct support to adult creators in the face of deplatforming and deindexing.

good practical reflection for artists who feel like whatever theyre making just isnt working is the sit down and VERY HONESTLY ask yourself: what is the gift here? it can be a lot of things. what am i giving to myself? to the world? what feeling? what expression? art that resonates is art that GIVES

i think this is part of why theres such a disconnect for people who try to make 'art with ai.' if you REALLY ask yourself 'what is my gift here with this ai art?' the answer is nothing. no story to give, or real feeling, or new idea. then these folks they are confused when it doesnt resonate

Anyway I need to share with you all the most hilarious line that has ever been written, circa 1887:

ok buckaroos i am going to talk a bit on artists and writers and publishers and AI, specifically HOW to create in this environment of endless ai slop and WHY i think you will probably be fine if you heed these very important words: YOUR ART IS MORE THAN WHAT IS IN THE PAGE OR PAINTING OR FILM

been saying this for years and DANG does it get folks riled up. the idea is this: as a creator, the thing that you make is not just an object (album, book, tv show) it is also a TETHER between you and your audience. this is ALL a performance art piece, and you bring all of yourself to the stage

when you experience a book, the art is not just text, because the way you connect with that book does not exist in a scientific lab. ART IS NOT A VACUUM. its the cover. its the bookstore where you got it. its what you know about the author. its what you ate for breakfast, its the weather, your mood

what ive said here INFURIATES some authors, because in a world of social media and publishers saying YOU NEED A PRESENCE, most writers just say: 'leave me alone i want to write not be a marketing team.' this is fair and i FEEL FOR YOU BUCKAROOS, but wishing it were different does not change reality

but HERES THE GOOD THING: all of that stuff around you, those tethers that connect you and your audience through infinite time and space, those can be part of your art. in fact, BIG REVEAL, they already are. you NEVER WERE just the text of your book. you are a multidimensional creation and creator

so how can you harness this? THATS FOR YOU TO DECIDE. you can simply NOT harness it (but unfortunately i would argue thats ALSO harnessing it) or you can find something that only YOU can express. your INFINITE UNIQUE HUMAN STAMP ON EXISTENCE. look, for instance, at my entire social media presence

there are MANY people who see my name on a book cover when they trot past and think, 'oh WOW thats chuck tingle i know him from _____' they are experiencing my book AND my art as a whole. in fact, they do that with EVERY SINGLE AUTHOR. 'oh that name sounds familiar. oh i liked their last book.'

great example: i have been self publishing erotica for years, and even back then there was a book for EVERY SINGLE FETISH. now, with AI slop, there is STILL a book for every single fetish. you might ask: 'dang chuck then how come YOU became the surrealist living object author everyone thinks of?'

answer: i expressed myself to you holistically. OUTSIDE of the books, as well as inside. i harnessed the power of uniqueness that HUMANS ALL HAVE. i said 'actually, i LIKE that tinglers are written overnight and have spelling errors and heres my philosophy why' these things ADD UP TO AN EXPERIENCE

so what is YOUR EXPERIENCE? YES, you have a painting or a book or a song or a movie, but WHO ARE YOU? once you find that you are in luck because GUESS WHAT? AI is literally nothing. the story outside of THAT story is environmental disaster and plagiarism. it FEELS BAD no matter how 'good' it gets

whenever folks talk about harry potter and separating artist from art they always have this indignant 'OH SO IM A BAD FOR BUYING THESE BOOKS?' but thats not the question. the reality is that many will BELIEVE you are bad, and that is VALID. its not your choice what others think of you

'AM I BAD?' is a grand and cosmic question that is well beyond our scope. fine. here on the ground, the DAY TO DAY effects are that your actions contribute to hurt and suffering in small or large ways, and those who hurt and suffer because of you are allowed to not like you because of it. SORRY BUD.

what is alternative? forcing folks to enjoy the art of those who hurt them? THEY DONT LIKE IT. someone saying 'your choices harm me so i dont like your creations and i dont like you' is not offensive, it is the most basic use of human autonomy and it is SO bizarre when folks argue otherwise

if you are a bigot or support bigotry or act in a movie built on the profits of hate, people are allowed to not like you 1. because bigotry is bad and 2. because people generally DONT LIKE THINGS THAT HURT THEM. like this is so obvious. it is not 'canceling' it is an exercise in basic human autonomy

it is so funny to me that of all the things i have ever posted about art, the most controversial take WITHOUT QUESTION is when i say that the best thing you can do if you want a career as an artist is to be KIND to your peers. folks get SO upset by that one, which i think is unfortunately telling

literally there will be a sea of posts saying things like 'imagine chuck tingle DESTROYING your career because you are mean,' things like that, which is just VERY BIZARRE interpretation but i DO think it is curious. what is it about kindness that brings such a visceral reaction from some creators?

the first thing i should point out is that it is not just me that gets these reactions. other folks have posted similar things and gotten TORN APART for it. so this seems to be a sort of universal subliminal anger towards the idea that kindness should have any value in the world or creatives

and i think THAT is the key. its not just kindness, it is the idea that ANYTHING other than the art on the page would have sway over your place as an artist. this, of course, is very funny because artistic 'success' has never been based on pure artistic merit, just like every other type of 'success'

everyone KNOWS that people hire friends for jobs. everyone KNOWS that people pick their buds for big opportunities. folks GO TO CONVENTIONS FOR THIS REASON. yet when you just kind of say it out loud in the realm of writing or music or acting or painting, the reaction is HEATED from certain buckaroos

you dont even have to say that you AGREE with this practice or not, just saying that it EXISTS is enough to spark rage. i get fury for posting simple fact that: 'i have known assholes coming up in many art fields and every single one of them has faceplanted because of it.' SO WHAT DOES THAT SAY?

well, one issue is fairness. is it FAIR to want to work with people who are kind and treat others with dignity? is it FAIR to disinvite a raging asshole from your party? i dont know. but i am certainly not surprised by it. humans like to be around other humans who are kind to them. animals too.

to me, what is says is some folks think their jealousy or pettiness or unkindness towards their creative peers, is INNATE. they read 'youll have a hard time finding success if youre a prick' as 'youll have a hard time finding success.' and the point of me writing all this is to say: YOU CAN CHOOSE

we are all making choices every day, we are given opportunities to support our peers or to tear them down. unfortunately, i think some folks find themselves falling into a pattern of aggression regarding the success of others. yes, it becomes ingrained, but it is NOT innate. theres a huge difference

YOU are capable of utterly unique breathtaking art. every single person reading this is a miracle of existence, and you have infinite masterpieces of creation just spilling off of you all the time. there is no reason to compare yourself to the infinite masterpieces of anyone else. theres enough room

actually this transcends language and you're the coolest guy alive

in times of turmoil it is very easy to feel like theres nothing you can do to help, especially if you are far away, but i promise buckaroo EVERYTHING helps. there is direct action like donating money or protesting, and there is cultural action like creating art and cultivating atmosphere of change

i DO think it is important to push yourself towards a direct approach, but BOTH matter and sometimes the second one is all that we are personally equipped for at a moment. so do not be frozen by indecision: CREATE SOMETHING THAT IS A SCREAM OF LOVE. make an atmosphere that says hate is not welcome

while it is obvious what i think about the current state to anyone who has ever paid attention, i will still LOUDLY say ICE is not welcome here. do not buy my books if you support them. every ICE member should be prosecuted, and we should find and support leaders who will promise to do this