User:Bus stop above states in criticism of a sourced opinion the user does not like that we are "elevating in our article a largely wrongheaded view of the work of art". I suggest the user appraises them self of the policies on neutral points of view and original research and avoids pushing their own interpretation of the artwork or of views on the artwork. We do not get to decide which views are wrongheaded. If the user wishes to provide a sourced statement to the effect that Dave Gibbons' views are wrongheaded, that will aid the article, but given that Gibbons views were sought by a major broadcaster on this very artwork I think we are in breach of our policies if we attempt to airbrush them from history. Gibbons is offering a commercial art view and has been sought out to do so. There is a conflict between modern art and commercial art that this work raises, which has been discussed in sources and which the article reflects. Attempting to pretend that debate has not happened does a disservice to our readers and is in stark contradiction to our policies. And in reply to the point regarding Warhol and Soup, do we have sourced material on that position. If not, the situations are not comparable and I'd rather not belabour straw man arguments. If there are such sourced opinions, then I suggest we add them to the relevant article or place it at FARC. I can turn up a Pulitzer Prize winner's quote on Warhol, soup, Lichtenstein and comics if we wish to debate the point elsewhere, but it isn't germane here. What's germane is balance, unbiased writing, comprehensiveness and neutrality. Hiding T 17:08, 15 July 2013 (UTC)
Our article presently reads:
"In an interview for a BBC4 documentary in 2013, Alastair Sooke asked the artist Dave Gibbons if he considered Lichtenstein a plagiarist. Gibbons replied: 'I would say 'copycat'. In music for instance, you can't just whistle somebody else's tune or perform somebody else's tune, no matter how badly, without somehow crediting and giving payment to the original artist. That's to say, this is 'WHAAM! by Roy Lichtenstein, after Irv Novick'."
The problem is that the above is a selective reading of the source that is used. Yes, we do find in the source that "this is 'WHAAM! by Roy Lichtenstein, after Irv Novick", but we also find in the same source: "…the proper credits should really read: ‘Roy Lichtenstein after Robert Kanigher, Irv Novick, Jerry Grandenetti, Russ Heath and Gaspar Saladino.'" The source explains that Lichtenstein "did not follow Irv Novick’s panel completely but used it as the underpinning composition". The source goes into the various possible derivations of aspects of the image Lichtenstein finally settled upon. The word "remixed" is used in that source. In another source I find the word "reworked" used. Certainly Lichtenstein used comic books as sources. But the same reference also has this to say about comic books in the early 1960's: "Their simplicity and outdatedness were ripe for being mocked and in many ways deserved it." [8] If Lichtenstein sought imagery that was ripe for mocking, he had little choice but to use the comic book imagery that existed. But he also altered that imagery. Therefore I see little reason for emphasis in this article on supposed impropriety. There is a paragraph devoted to this in the lead. It was not just comic books that contained the sought-after qualities. He also "took his inspiration from the cheaply printed, commercial imagery of newspaper ads and mail-order catalogues…" [9] Bus stop ( talk) 02:26, 17 July 2013 (UTC)
Our article presently reads:
"In an interview for a BBC4 documentary in 2013, Alastair Sooke asked the artist Dave Gibbons if he considered Lichtenstein a plagiarist. Gibbons replied: 'I would say 'copycat'. In music for instance, you can't just whistle somebody else's tune or perform somebody else's tune, no matter how badly, without somehow crediting and giving payment to the original artist. That's to say, this is 'WHAAM! by Roy Lichtenstein, after Irv Novick'.[14]"
The source that our article provides in support of the above wording is paulgravett.com. The above wording in our article conveys that Lichtenstein could be characterized as a "copycat" and that the painting that is the subject of this article could be characterized as "WHAAM! by Roy Lichtenstein, after Irv Novick". This seems to be a result of a faulty reading of the source. While it is correct that the source says the above, the source also contains language that detracts from and counters the above. Perhaps we should include counterbalancing quotes from the source. Perhaps, and I think this would be preferable, we reduce the implications of impropriety already found in our article. The lead of our article is I think out of line in presently reading: "Lichtenstein was criticized by some commentators for his failure to give credit or compensation to the comic book artists whose work he copied. Despite controversy surrounding its artistic merit, originality and ethical propriety, Lichtenstein's comics-based work has since become popular with collectors and is now widely accepted." The lead of the article should be for broadly supported themes of the article. There is very little support in sources for the above.
We have a section in our article titled General originality. It is sourced. But the problem is that our article is not reflecting what our source says in its entirety. The source asserts that the painting is not simply "WHAAM! by Roy Lichtenstein, after Irv Novick". This is for several reasons. What Lichtenstein seems to have done is search though many panels in comics for ingredients for his pictures. The presumed process that Lichtenstein followed can be hard to follow. The source provides a wealth of comic book panels for reference. It may help to look at the article, and at the images in particular. The article says:
"To be accurate, in the case of ‘WHAAM!’, Lichtenstein did not follow Irv Novick’s panel completely but used it as the underpinning composition and for one sound effect and narrative caption. He then sketched out a remixed version, replacing Novick’s side-view of the attacking plane on the left with a sharper, clearer plane at an angle, taken from the following issue, All American Men Of War #90, from the story ‘Wingmate of Doom’, panel 3 on page 11, drawn by Jerry Grandenetti."
One panel, the Irv Novick panel, may have served as the "underpinning composition" and it may have served as the source for "one sound effect" and the "narrative caption". Note that Lichtenstein "sketched out a remixed version." This is not simply "copying". Note the extent of manipulation of imagery and recombining of elements from separate panels:
"He also switched the relatively small exploding plane in the distance on the right with another, by flipping through the same issue of All-American Men of War and picking out a different plane. David Barsalou, compiler of the invaluable resource Deconstructing Lichtenstein, thinks it could be taken from panel 3 on page 3 of the Russ Heath-illustrated story ‘Aces Wild’. It could well have looked to Lichtenstein (mistakenly) as if its right wing is shearing off diagonally. This looks to me looks more probable than Barsalou’s other suggested source for the enemy plane, literally sitting over the page, panel 6 on page 12 of Novick’s ‘The Star Jockey’, as its nose cone shape is different and it lacks that breaking wing, the sort of creative idea and drawing that Lichtenstein would not have added to Novick’s design."
"So if we also want to acknowledge the writing (the image would not have been drawn without the initial script probably by editor Robert Kanigher) and the lettering, the proper credits should really read: ‘Roy Lichtenstein after Robert Kanigher, Irv Novick, Jerry Grandenetti, Russ Heath and Gaspar Saladino.’ If we could ever determine who coloured that original panel, that name could be added on the end! ‘WHAAM!’ may be about the most famous, most reproduced single panel from a comic book, but it has been totally removed from its context as merely one of 67 panels across a 13-page story."
Our source is telling us that the work of many people is drawn upon by Lichtenstein. We should not be singling out for retelling in our article the one negative quote from Dave Gibbons characterizing Lichtenstein as a "copycat". We should also not be including the quote from Dave Gibbons that the painting is "'WHAAM! by Roy Lichtenstein, after Irv Novick'." The source counters this with a long list people's names that were possibly drawn upon by Lichtenstein in compositing his image. The source is conveying the notion that Lichtenstein recombined visual passages from many panels. I think the source makes a point of saying this. If we are to represent the source we should represent it in its totality. Bus stop ( talk) 06:48, 17 July 2013 (UTC)
Hiding—the article presently reads:
"In an interview for a BBC4 documentary in 2013, Alastair Sooke asked the comic book artist Dave Gibbons if he considered Lichtenstein a plagiarist. Gibbons replied: 'I would say 'copycat'. In music for instance, you can't just whistle somebody else's tune or perform somebody else's tune, no matter how badly, without somehow crediting and giving payment to the original artist. That's to say, this is 'WHAAM! by Roy Lichtenstein, after Irv Novick'.[7]"
The source provided in support of the above does not properly support the above unless one very selectively reads that source. The language selected above is extracted with unreasonable narrowness and selectivity from the source provided. The source actually contains a much broader view of Lichtenstein's working methods and the possibility of them being considered anything akin to plagiarism. The source explains that Lichtenstein extracted parts of images from many comic book "panels" by many different comic book artists and remixed them to create the images we find in the painting Whaam!. Rather than me trying to explain the tortuous detail of how Lichtenstein went about doing that, you have to read the three paragraphs from the source, posted below. Illustrations intersperse the paragraphs at the source but here are the 3 paragraphs without the illustrations:
1. ) "To be accurate, in the case of ‘WHAAM!’, Lichtenstein did not follow Irv Novick’s panel completely but used it as the underpinning composition and for one sound effect and narrative caption. He then sketched out a remixed version (above), replacing Novick’s side-view of the attacking plane on the left with a sharper, clearer plane at an angle, taken from the following issue, All American Men Of War #90, from the story ‘Wingmate of Doom’, panel 3 on page 11, drawn by Jerry Grandenetti (below)."
2. ) "He also switched the relatively small exploding plane in the distance on the right with another, by flipping through the same issue of All-American Men of War and picking out a different plane. David Barsalou, compiler of the invaluable resource Deconstructing Lichtenstein, thinks it could be taken from panel 3 on page 3 of the Russ Heath-illustrated story ‘Aces Wild’ (below). It could well have looked to Lichtenstein (mistakenly) as if its right wing is shearing off diagonally. This looks to me looks more probable than Barsalou’s other suggested source for the enemy plane, literally sitting over the page, panel 6 on page 12 of Novick’s ‘The Star Jockey’, as its nose cone shape is different and it lacks that breaking wing, the sort of creative idea and drawing that Lichtenstein would not have added to Novick’s design."
3. ) "So if we also want to acknowledge the writing (the image would not have been drawn without the initial script probably by editor Robert Kanigher) and the lettering, the proper credits should really read: ‘Roy Lichtenstein after Robert Kanigher, Irv Novick, Jerry Grandenetti, Russ Heath and Gaspar Saladino.’ If we could ever determine who coloured that original panel, that name could be added on the end! ‘WHAAM!’ may be about the most famous, most reproduced single panel from a comic book, but it has been totally removed from its context as merely one of 67 panels across a 13-page story."
This article is not about the approval or disapproval of Lichtenstein's means of acquiring images generally. Information on the painting Whaam! is the topic of this article. One might consider adding to the Roy Lichtenstein article, information along these lines if it is well-sourced. Our article presently contains the following:
"Although Lichtenstein's comic-based work is now widely accepted, concerns are still expressed by critics who say Lichtenstein did not credit, pay any royalties to, or seek permission from the original artists or copyright holders.[38][39]"
What does the above have to do with the topic of this article? This is not even on the topic of the painting Whaam!, and the two sources provided do not say anything about the working methods Lichtenstein employed to create Whaam!. This source does not mention Whaam! at all. This source critically speaks about Lichtenstein vis-a-vis image-sourcing but not about the painting Whaam!. It says: "But the trouble with Lichtenstein’s work, says Rian Hughes, is that most - if not all of it - is appropriated from comic book artists without credit or compensation." This is outside the realm of this article. Such information might be inside the realm of the Roy Lichtenstein article. The lead of our article says this:
"Lichtenstein has been criticized by some commentators for his failure to give credit or compensation to the comic book artists upon whose works his paintings were based. Despite controversy surrounding its artistic merit, originality and ethical propriety, Lichtenstein's comics-based work has since become popular with collectors and is now widely accepted."
The lead is an even more prominent part of an article than the body of an article. It is what a reader encounters first. There is an article for material such as this—if reliably sourced. That is the Roy Lichtenstein article. But one needs sourcing for material such as this. It simply is not sourced in relation to this article. Our article on Whaam! could constructively speak of the "remixing" (word found in source) of the variety of images from a variety of comic book artists. There is nothing wrong with the source that you are using to support the information about Dave Gibbons—but that particular information is outweighed by distinctly differing information found in the same source. The source can be put to a good purpose. We can derive that Lichtenstein scoured many panels in comic books in order to find images and parts of images to construct the image that results in Whaam!. Bus stop ( talk) 00:14, 19 July 2013 (UTC)
Curly Turkey—my post at 00:14, 19 July 2013 (UTC) clearly shows that I looked at the sources inlined to that sentence. In that post of mine I expounded upon the contents of those two sources. I don't doubt that you know the importance of the use of sources. Moments ago I added to the article a "See also" section containing a link to Appropriation (art). This I find to be entirely appropriate. Similar measures I would also find entirely appropriate. But what I think you are failing to be aware of are the implications of adding some of the other language already in the article or even the more mild language that you are contemplating for inclusion. Perhaps we can agree on language that is simply milder by degree. My idea is that only links to other parts of the project should be considered for inclusion with only the simplest and non-condemnatory language being used. (I am sure there will one day be a Wikipedia parade with a float reading Non-Condemnatory Language Only.) We could for instance mention that the use of images relating to comic-book imagery might fall under a term used in the visual arts (and other arts) called appropriation. Notice my italicized words: relating to comic-book imagery, and might fall under. At the Appropriation (art) article there could be a section added dealing with Lichtenstein-related instances of supposed improper cadging of images or whatever other improprieties are supported by reliable sources. Alternatively, the link from the Whaam! articlee could be to the Roy Lichtenstein article. Similarly—a paragraph or section could be initiated or expanded upon addressing this topic. We do not know that there are any improprieties relating to this painting and we should be careful not to mislead the reader by means of implication. Notice the language in "Manual of Style" for "See also" sections: "The links in the 'See also' section do not have to be directly related to the topic of the article, because one purpose of 'See also' links is to enable readers to explore tangentially related topics." [10] I bring this to your attention not because I think you might be unaware of it but because this is the spirit in which we should approach the handling of the issue that we are discussing. Yes, it could be appropriate to alert the reader to other resources for questions they may have on their minds. But no, we should not by implication suggest that the Whaam! painting is problematic for improper use of other artists' images. This is an important distinction. What is the point of having an article on an individual painting if you are going to imply in the article that that which may be applicable to one or more paintings (by the same artist) is probably applicable to this painting? That implication is clearly presently there in the language that is currently in the article. If we are going to address this issue we should understand what we are trying to do: we are trying to apprise the reader of other resources to which they can turn. But we are also trying to avoid implying something not supported by reliable sources concerning this painting. Bus stop ( talk) 14:26, 19 July 2013 (UTC)
Hiding—that link to "BBC Worldwide" is very much "of use." I am tempted to post the whole thing here. Consider just a few paragraphs:
"Comparing the source for Whaam! with the finished painting banishes the hoary idea that Lichtenstein profited on the back of the creativity of others. Lichtenstein transformed Novick’s artwork in a number of subtle but crucial ways. In general, he wanted to simplify and unify the image, to give it more clarity as a coherent work of art. For this reason, he removed two extra fighter jets to the right of the original panel. He also got rid of the lump of dark shadow representing a mountainside that was an ugly compositional mistake to the left of Novick’s picture. The result is that the two panels of Whaam! feel much more evenly balanced, producing a satisfying and well-structured visual effect."
"While Novick’s explosion is a measly, scratchy little thing slipping out of frame, Lichtenstein’s self-possessed fireball unfurls like a blooming flower. Lichtenstein changed the colour of the letters spelling out “WHAAM!” from red to yellow, so that yellow would become another means of yoking everything together. As a result, the eye is cleverly led from the yellow of the speech bubble above the jet through the onomatopoeic sound effect to the explosion itself and back round to the horizontal vapour trail left behind by the missile."
"Then, of course, there is the question of scale. Lichtenstein took something tiny and ephemeral – a throwaway comic-strip panel that most people would overlook – and blew it up so that it was a substantial oil (and acrylic) painting more than 2m (6.5 ft) wide and 1.7m (5.5 ft) high. Here, he was saying, was a contemporary equivalent of a grand ‘history painting’, once considered the highest and most challenging branch of art. In the years after it was executed, people began to understand Whaam! as a prophetic critique of America’s involvement in the Vietnam War."
The BBC spells funny but other than that it is a good article in my opinion. Bus stop ( talk) 16:45, 19 July 2013 (UTC)
Would anyone object to the removal of the following two blocks of text from this article at this time?
"Lichtenstein has been criticized by some commentators for his failure to give credit or compensation to the comic book artists upon whose works his paintings were based. Despite controversy surrounding its artistic merit, originality and ethical propriety, Lichtenstein's comics-based work has since become popular with collectors and is now widely accepted."
"Although Lichtenstein's comic-based work is now widely accepted, concerns are still expressed by critics who say Lichtenstein did not credit, pay any royalties to, or seek permission from the original artists or copyright holders. In an interview for a BBC4 documentary in 2013, Alastair Sooke asked the comic book artist Dave Gibbons if he considered Lichtenstein a plagiarist. Gibbons replied: 'I would say 'copycat'. In music for instance, you can't just whistle somebody else's tune or perform somebody else's tune, no matter how badly, without somehow crediting and giving payment to the original artist. That's to say, this is 'WHAAM! by Roy Lichtenstein, after Irv Novick'.'"
We have two sources providing a glimpse of Dave Gibbons' view but both of those sources are not ambiguous in their refutation of Dave Gibbons' view. They are the paulgravett.com source and the bbc.com/culture source. It has been my opinion all along that the "paulgravett.com" source provided sufficient refutation to remove Dave Gibbons' view from our article. Now we have the "bbc.com/culture" source pointedly addressing Dave Gibbons' assertions concerning the origin of the imagery found in Whaam!. As an example, from the "bbc.com/culture" source:
"Comparing the source for Whaam! with the finished painting banishes the hoary idea that Lichtenstein profited on the back of the creativity of others. Lichtenstein transformed Novick’s artwork in a number of subtle but crucial ways".
The above two blocks of text found in our article are misleading to the reader. The wording in those two blocks of text is telling the reader that the imagery seen in Whaam! is the same imagery found in a panel of a comic book. Sources are saying otherwise. Bus stop ( talk) 12:24, 21 July 2013 (UTC)
For the record I agree with Curly Turkey that the Gibbons opinion needs to be in the article to reflect the contrasting views held on Lichtenstein and I once again question Bus Stop's tendentious attempts at editing the article to present his POV, which is that he doesn't agree with Gibbons opinion and does not want to see it in the article. We write from a NPOV and reflect the arguments. We don;t decide which side to take, we hold a neutral position. That the BBC, an organisation similarly committed to neutrality and reflecting views, sought out Gibbons for his opinion demonstrates the view is worthy of coverage in the article. The fact that Gibbons' view can be challenged through reliable sources is all to the better since it presents the reader with the arguments and allows them to draw their own conclusions rather than being shepherded to the Bus Stop approved version of history. Hiding T 21:32, 23 July 2013 (UTC)
The last paragraph of the lead is outside of the scope of the article, and it is condemnatory, and it is gratuitous. It reads: "Lichtenstein has been criticized by some commentators for his failure to give credit or compensation to the comic book artists upon whose works his paintings were based. Despite controversy surrounding its artistic merit, originality and ethical propriety, Lichtenstein's comics-based work has since become popular with collectors and is now widely accepted." This is a very loose summation of material in the body of the article. In my assessment this is an article on an individual painting. It can be acceptable to include material outside of the scope of an article on an individual work of art but I don't think it is advisable in this instance. This article is not an article on Copyright infringement as concerns the works of Roy Lichtenstein. That would seem to be a valid but complicated subject area. It is in my assessment a pollyannish expectation that a neutral and balanced tone can be achieved on that topic in this article. An area for exploration in a Wikipedia article is conceivable on the topic of the sourcing of images in Lichtenstein paintings. This would seem to be a generally valid area for an article. I think much material is out there on that topic. If one does a Google search on related terms one finds a lot of information on that topic. Someone may wish to create an article on that topic. That topic should be considered outside of the scope of an article on the painting Whaam!. I don't think a balanced treatment is obtainable on that topic in this article. That should be evident from the material on that topic in this article at this time. In the body of the article we find: "Although Lichtenstein's comic-based work is now widely accepted, concerns are still expressed by critics who say Lichtenstein did not credit, pay any royalties to, or seek permission from the original artists or copyright holders." This is outside of the scope of this article, and it is condemnatory, and it is gratuitous. (As an aside I think it is interesting to note that Lichtenstein was never sued for copyright infringement although the possibility exists that copyright holders threatened to sue but settled privately outside of court.) Bus stop ( talk) 20:38, 25 July 2013 (UTC)
Back on the treadmill again! The material is not "out-of-scope" or "out of left field". As has been pointed out repeatedly:
This discussion is not in the least enjoyable. The treadmill's wearing me out. Is there anyone out there who sees any merit in Bus Stop's position?
I'm going to quit replying to Bus Stop now unless someone comes in supporting his/her position. Anyone? Curly Turkey ( gobble) 03:57, 29 July 2013 (UTC)
Just a few things I've noticed. I haven't read the article closely. I think it could use a good copyediting.
——— Curly Turkey ( gobble) 01:23, 17 July 2013 (UTC)
Reception
——— Curly Turkey ( gobble) 02:03, 18 July 2013 (UTC)
On his wartime service:
I'm not sure how that squares with the 69th Infantry Division seeing 86 days of active combat, including Operation Lumberjack. I think his unit was the 269th Engineer Battalion. [25] The unit was clearly in harm's way occasionally ("two men were killed in battle, while another four died of wounds. A total of 14 men survived battle wounds") but not in the thick of it. (This is all good stuff for the biography, by the way.) -- Theramin ( talk) 00:19, 2 August 2013 (UTC)
User:Bus stop above states in criticism of a sourced opinion the user does not like that we are "elevating in our article a largely wrongheaded view of the work of art". I suggest the user appraises them self of the policies on neutral points of view and original research and avoids pushing their own interpretation of the artwork or of views on the artwork. We do not get to decide which views are wrongheaded. If the user wishes to provide a sourced statement to the effect that Dave Gibbons' views are wrongheaded, that will aid the article, but given that Gibbons views were sought by a major broadcaster on this very artwork I think we are in breach of our policies if we attempt to airbrush them from history. Gibbons is offering a commercial art view and has been sought out to do so. There is a conflict between modern art and commercial art that this work raises, which has been discussed in sources and which the article reflects. Attempting to pretend that debate has not happened does a disservice to our readers and is in stark contradiction to our policies. And in reply to the point regarding Warhol and Soup, do we have sourced material on that position. If not, the situations are not comparable and I'd rather not belabour straw man arguments. If there are such sourced opinions, then I suggest we add them to the relevant article or place it at FARC. I can turn up a Pulitzer Prize winner's quote on Warhol, soup, Lichtenstein and comics if we wish to debate the point elsewhere, but it isn't germane here. What's germane is balance, unbiased writing, comprehensiveness and neutrality. Hiding T 17:08, 15 July 2013 (UTC)
Our article presently reads:
"In an interview for a BBC4 documentary in 2013, Alastair Sooke asked the artist Dave Gibbons if he considered Lichtenstein a plagiarist. Gibbons replied: 'I would say 'copycat'. In music for instance, you can't just whistle somebody else's tune or perform somebody else's tune, no matter how badly, without somehow crediting and giving payment to the original artist. That's to say, this is 'WHAAM! by Roy Lichtenstein, after Irv Novick'."
The problem is that the above is a selective reading of the source that is used. Yes, we do find in the source that "this is 'WHAAM! by Roy Lichtenstein, after Irv Novick", but we also find in the same source: "…the proper credits should really read: ‘Roy Lichtenstein after Robert Kanigher, Irv Novick, Jerry Grandenetti, Russ Heath and Gaspar Saladino.'" The source explains that Lichtenstein "did not follow Irv Novick’s panel completely but used it as the underpinning composition". The source goes into the various possible derivations of aspects of the image Lichtenstein finally settled upon. The word "remixed" is used in that source. In another source I find the word "reworked" used. Certainly Lichtenstein used comic books as sources. But the same reference also has this to say about comic books in the early 1960's: "Their simplicity and outdatedness were ripe for being mocked and in many ways deserved it." [8] If Lichtenstein sought imagery that was ripe for mocking, he had little choice but to use the comic book imagery that existed. But he also altered that imagery. Therefore I see little reason for emphasis in this article on supposed impropriety. There is a paragraph devoted to this in the lead. It was not just comic books that contained the sought-after qualities. He also "took his inspiration from the cheaply printed, commercial imagery of newspaper ads and mail-order catalogues…" [9] Bus stop ( talk) 02:26, 17 July 2013 (UTC)
Our article presently reads:
"In an interview for a BBC4 documentary in 2013, Alastair Sooke asked the artist Dave Gibbons if he considered Lichtenstein a plagiarist. Gibbons replied: 'I would say 'copycat'. In music for instance, you can't just whistle somebody else's tune or perform somebody else's tune, no matter how badly, without somehow crediting and giving payment to the original artist. That's to say, this is 'WHAAM! by Roy Lichtenstein, after Irv Novick'.[14]"
The source that our article provides in support of the above wording is paulgravett.com. The above wording in our article conveys that Lichtenstein could be characterized as a "copycat" and that the painting that is the subject of this article could be characterized as "WHAAM! by Roy Lichtenstein, after Irv Novick". This seems to be a result of a faulty reading of the source. While it is correct that the source says the above, the source also contains language that detracts from and counters the above. Perhaps we should include counterbalancing quotes from the source. Perhaps, and I think this would be preferable, we reduce the implications of impropriety already found in our article. The lead of our article is I think out of line in presently reading: "Lichtenstein was criticized by some commentators for his failure to give credit or compensation to the comic book artists whose work he copied. Despite controversy surrounding its artistic merit, originality and ethical propriety, Lichtenstein's comics-based work has since become popular with collectors and is now widely accepted." The lead of the article should be for broadly supported themes of the article. There is very little support in sources for the above.
We have a section in our article titled General originality. It is sourced. But the problem is that our article is not reflecting what our source says in its entirety. The source asserts that the painting is not simply "WHAAM! by Roy Lichtenstein, after Irv Novick". This is for several reasons. What Lichtenstein seems to have done is search though many panels in comics for ingredients for his pictures. The presumed process that Lichtenstein followed can be hard to follow. The source provides a wealth of comic book panels for reference. It may help to look at the article, and at the images in particular. The article says:
"To be accurate, in the case of ‘WHAAM!’, Lichtenstein did not follow Irv Novick’s panel completely but used it as the underpinning composition and for one sound effect and narrative caption. He then sketched out a remixed version, replacing Novick’s side-view of the attacking plane on the left with a sharper, clearer plane at an angle, taken from the following issue, All American Men Of War #90, from the story ‘Wingmate of Doom’, panel 3 on page 11, drawn by Jerry Grandenetti."
One panel, the Irv Novick panel, may have served as the "underpinning composition" and it may have served as the source for "one sound effect" and the "narrative caption". Note that Lichtenstein "sketched out a remixed version." This is not simply "copying". Note the extent of manipulation of imagery and recombining of elements from separate panels:
"He also switched the relatively small exploding plane in the distance on the right with another, by flipping through the same issue of All-American Men of War and picking out a different plane. David Barsalou, compiler of the invaluable resource Deconstructing Lichtenstein, thinks it could be taken from panel 3 on page 3 of the Russ Heath-illustrated story ‘Aces Wild’. It could well have looked to Lichtenstein (mistakenly) as if its right wing is shearing off diagonally. This looks to me looks more probable than Barsalou’s other suggested source for the enemy plane, literally sitting over the page, panel 6 on page 12 of Novick’s ‘The Star Jockey’, as its nose cone shape is different and it lacks that breaking wing, the sort of creative idea and drawing that Lichtenstein would not have added to Novick’s design."
"So if we also want to acknowledge the writing (the image would not have been drawn without the initial script probably by editor Robert Kanigher) and the lettering, the proper credits should really read: ‘Roy Lichtenstein after Robert Kanigher, Irv Novick, Jerry Grandenetti, Russ Heath and Gaspar Saladino.’ If we could ever determine who coloured that original panel, that name could be added on the end! ‘WHAAM!’ may be about the most famous, most reproduced single panel from a comic book, but it has been totally removed from its context as merely one of 67 panels across a 13-page story."
Our source is telling us that the work of many people is drawn upon by Lichtenstein. We should not be singling out for retelling in our article the one negative quote from Dave Gibbons characterizing Lichtenstein as a "copycat". We should also not be including the quote from Dave Gibbons that the painting is "'WHAAM! by Roy Lichtenstein, after Irv Novick'." The source counters this with a long list people's names that were possibly drawn upon by Lichtenstein in compositing his image. The source is conveying the notion that Lichtenstein recombined visual passages from many panels. I think the source makes a point of saying this. If we are to represent the source we should represent it in its totality. Bus stop ( talk) 06:48, 17 July 2013 (UTC)
Hiding—the article presently reads:
"In an interview for a BBC4 documentary in 2013, Alastair Sooke asked the comic book artist Dave Gibbons if he considered Lichtenstein a plagiarist. Gibbons replied: 'I would say 'copycat'. In music for instance, you can't just whistle somebody else's tune or perform somebody else's tune, no matter how badly, without somehow crediting and giving payment to the original artist. That's to say, this is 'WHAAM! by Roy Lichtenstein, after Irv Novick'.[7]"
The source provided in support of the above does not properly support the above unless one very selectively reads that source. The language selected above is extracted with unreasonable narrowness and selectivity from the source provided. The source actually contains a much broader view of Lichtenstein's working methods and the possibility of them being considered anything akin to plagiarism. The source explains that Lichtenstein extracted parts of images from many comic book "panels" by many different comic book artists and remixed them to create the images we find in the painting Whaam!. Rather than me trying to explain the tortuous detail of how Lichtenstein went about doing that, you have to read the three paragraphs from the source, posted below. Illustrations intersperse the paragraphs at the source but here are the 3 paragraphs without the illustrations:
1. ) "To be accurate, in the case of ‘WHAAM!’, Lichtenstein did not follow Irv Novick’s panel completely but used it as the underpinning composition and for one sound effect and narrative caption. He then sketched out a remixed version (above), replacing Novick’s side-view of the attacking plane on the left with a sharper, clearer plane at an angle, taken from the following issue, All American Men Of War #90, from the story ‘Wingmate of Doom’, panel 3 on page 11, drawn by Jerry Grandenetti (below)."
2. ) "He also switched the relatively small exploding plane in the distance on the right with another, by flipping through the same issue of All-American Men of War and picking out a different plane. David Barsalou, compiler of the invaluable resource Deconstructing Lichtenstein, thinks it could be taken from panel 3 on page 3 of the Russ Heath-illustrated story ‘Aces Wild’ (below). It could well have looked to Lichtenstein (mistakenly) as if its right wing is shearing off diagonally. This looks to me looks more probable than Barsalou’s other suggested source for the enemy plane, literally sitting over the page, panel 6 on page 12 of Novick’s ‘The Star Jockey’, as its nose cone shape is different and it lacks that breaking wing, the sort of creative idea and drawing that Lichtenstein would not have added to Novick’s design."
3. ) "So if we also want to acknowledge the writing (the image would not have been drawn without the initial script probably by editor Robert Kanigher) and the lettering, the proper credits should really read: ‘Roy Lichtenstein after Robert Kanigher, Irv Novick, Jerry Grandenetti, Russ Heath and Gaspar Saladino.’ If we could ever determine who coloured that original panel, that name could be added on the end! ‘WHAAM!’ may be about the most famous, most reproduced single panel from a comic book, but it has been totally removed from its context as merely one of 67 panels across a 13-page story."
This article is not about the approval or disapproval of Lichtenstein's means of acquiring images generally. Information on the painting Whaam! is the topic of this article. One might consider adding to the Roy Lichtenstein article, information along these lines if it is well-sourced. Our article presently contains the following:
"Although Lichtenstein's comic-based work is now widely accepted, concerns are still expressed by critics who say Lichtenstein did not credit, pay any royalties to, or seek permission from the original artists or copyright holders.[38][39]"
What does the above have to do with the topic of this article? This is not even on the topic of the painting Whaam!, and the two sources provided do not say anything about the working methods Lichtenstein employed to create Whaam!. This source does not mention Whaam! at all. This source critically speaks about Lichtenstein vis-a-vis image-sourcing but not about the painting Whaam!. It says: "But the trouble with Lichtenstein’s work, says Rian Hughes, is that most - if not all of it - is appropriated from comic book artists without credit or compensation." This is outside the realm of this article. Such information might be inside the realm of the Roy Lichtenstein article. The lead of our article says this:
"Lichtenstein has been criticized by some commentators for his failure to give credit or compensation to the comic book artists upon whose works his paintings were based. Despite controversy surrounding its artistic merit, originality and ethical propriety, Lichtenstein's comics-based work has since become popular with collectors and is now widely accepted."
The lead is an even more prominent part of an article than the body of an article. It is what a reader encounters first. There is an article for material such as this—if reliably sourced. That is the Roy Lichtenstein article. But one needs sourcing for material such as this. It simply is not sourced in relation to this article. Our article on Whaam! could constructively speak of the "remixing" (word found in source) of the variety of images from a variety of comic book artists. There is nothing wrong with the source that you are using to support the information about Dave Gibbons—but that particular information is outweighed by distinctly differing information found in the same source. The source can be put to a good purpose. We can derive that Lichtenstein scoured many panels in comic books in order to find images and parts of images to construct the image that results in Whaam!. Bus stop ( talk) 00:14, 19 July 2013 (UTC)
Curly Turkey—my post at 00:14, 19 July 2013 (UTC) clearly shows that I looked at the sources inlined to that sentence. In that post of mine I expounded upon the contents of those two sources. I don't doubt that you know the importance of the use of sources. Moments ago I added to the article a "See also" section containing a link to Appropriation (art). This I find to be entirely appropriate. Similar measures I would also find entirely appropriate. But what I think you are failing to be aware of are the implications of adding some of the other language already in the article or even the more mild language that you are contemplating for inclusion. Perhaps we can agree on language that is simply milder by degree. My idea is that only links to other parts of the project should be considered for inclusion with only the simplest and non-condemnatory language being used. (I am sure there will one day be a Wikipedia parade with a float reading Non-Condemnatory Language Only.) We could for instance mention that the use of images relating to comic-book imagery might fall under a term used in the visual arts (and other arts) called appropriation. Notice my italicized words: relating to comic-book imagery, and might fall under. At the Appropriation (art) article there could be a section added dealing with Lichtenstein-related instances of supposed improper cadging of images or whatever other improprieties are supported by reliable sources. Alternatively, the link from the Whaam! articlee could be to the Roy Lichtenstein article. Similarly—a paragraph or section could be initiated or expanded upon addressing this topic. We do not know that there are any improprieties relating to this painting and we should be careful not to mislead the reader by means of implication. Notice the language in "Manual of Style" for "See also" sections: "The links in the 'See also' section do not have to be directly related to the topic of the article, because one purpose of 'See also' links is to enable readers to explore tangentially related topics." [10] I bring this to your attention not because I think you might be unaware of it but because this is the spirit in which we should approach the handling of the issue that we are discussing. Yes, it could be appropriate to alert the reader to other resources for questions they may have on their minds. But no, we should not by implication suggest that the Whaam! painting is problematic for improper use of other artists' images. This is an important distinction. What is the point of having an article on an individual painting if you are going to imply in the article that that which may be applicable to one or more paintings (by the same artist) is probably applicable to this painting? That implication is clearly presently there in the language that is currently in the article. If we are going to address this issue we should understand what we are trying to do: we are trying to apprise the reader of other resources to which they can turn. But we are also trying to avoid implying something not supported by reliable sources concerning this painting. Bus stop ( talk) 14:26, 19 July 2013 (UTC)
Hiding—that link to "BBC Worldwide" is very much "of use." I am tempted to post the whole thing here. Consider just a few paragraphs:
"Comparing the source for Whaam! with the finished painting banishes the hoary idea that Lichtenstein profited on the back of the creativity of others. Lichtenstein transformed Novick’s artwork in a number of subtle but crucial ways. In general, he wanted to simplify and unify the image, to give it more clarity as a coherent work of art. For this reason, he removed two extra fighter jets to the right of the original panel. He also got rid of the lump of dark shadow representing a mountainside that was an ugly compositional mistake to the left of Novick’s picture. The result is that the two panels of Whaam! feel much more evenly balanced, producing a satisfying and well-structured visual effect."
"While Novick’s explosion is a measly, scratchy little thing slipping out of frame, Lichtenstein’s self-possessed fireball unfurls like a blooming flower. Lichtenstein changed the colour of the letters spelling out “WHAAM!” from red to yellow, so that yellow would become another means of yoking everything together. As a result, the eye is cleverly led from the yellow of the speech bubble above the jet through the onomatopoeic sound effect to the explosion itself and back round to the horizontal vapour trail left behind by the missile."
"Then, of course, there is the question of scale. Lichtenstein took something tiny and ephemeral – a throwaway comic-strip panel that most people would overlook – and blew it up so that it was a substantial oil (and acrylic) painting more than 2m (6.5 ft) wide and 1.7m (5.5 ft) high. Here, he was saying, was a contemporary equivalent of a grand ‘history painting’, once considered the highest and most challenging branch of art. In the years after it was executed, people began to understand Whaam! as a prophetic critique of America’s involvement in the Vietnam War."
The BBC spells funny but other than that it is a good article in my opinion. Bus stop ( talk) 16:45, 19 July 2013 (UTC)
Would anyone object to the removal of the following two blocks of text from this article at this time?
"Lichtenstein has been criticized by some commentators for his failure to give credit or compensation to the comic book artists upon whose works his paintings were based. Despite controversy surrounding its artistic merit, originality and ethical propriety, Lichtenstein's comics-based work has since become popular with collectors and is now widely accepted."
"Although Lichtenstein's comic-based work is now widely accepted, concerns are still expressed by critics who say Lichtenstein did not credit, pay any royalties to, or seek permission from the original artists or copyright holders. In an interview for a BBC4 documentary in 2013, Alastair Sooke asked the comic book artist Dave Gibbons if he considered Lichtenstein a plagiarist. Gibbons replied: 'I would say 'copycat'. In music for instance, you can't just whistle somebody else's tune or perform somebody else's tune, no matter how badly, without somehow crediting and giving payment to the original artist. That's to say, this is 'WHAAM! by Roy Lichtenstein, after Irv Novick'.'"
We have two sources providing a glimpse of Dave Gibbons' view but both of those sources are not ambiguous in their refutation of Dave Gibbons' view. They are the paulgravett.com source and the bbc.com/culture source. It has been my opinion all along that the "paulgravett.com" source provided sufficient refutation to remove Dave Gibbons' view from our article. Now we have the "bbc.com/culture" source pointedly addressing Dave Gibbons' assertions concerning the origin of the imagery found in Whaam!. As an example, from the "bbc.com/culture" source:
"Comparing the source for Whaam! with the finished painting banishes the hoary idea that Lichtenstein profited on the back of the creativity of others. Lichtenstein transformed Novick’s artwork in a number of subtle but crucial ways".
The above two blocks of text found in our article are misleading to the reader. The wording in those two blocks of text is telling the reader that the imagery seen in Whaam! is the same imagery found in a panel of a comic book. Sources are saying otherwise. Bus stop ( talk) 12:24, 21 July 2013 (UTC)
For the record I agree with Curly Turkey that the Gibbons opinion needs to be in the article to reflect the contrasting views held on Lichtenstein and I once again question Bus Stop's tendentious attempts at editing the article to present his POV, which is that he doesn't agree with Gibbons opinion and does not want to see it in the article. We write from a NPOV and reflect the arguments. We don;t decide which side to take, we hold a neutral position. That the BBC, an organisation similarly committed to neutrality and reflecting views, sought out Gibbons for his opinion demonstrates the view is worthy of coverage in the article. The fact that Gibbons' view can be challenged through reliable sources is all to the better since it presents the reader with the arguments and allows them to draw their own conclusions rather than being shepherded to the Bus Stop approved version of history. Hiding T 21:32, 23 July 2013 (UTC)
The last paragraph of the lead is outside of the scope of the article, and it is condemnatory, and it is gratuitous. It reads: "Lichtenstein has been criticized by some commentators for his failure to give credit or compensation to the comic book artists upon whose works his paintings were based. Despite controversy surrounding its artistic merit, originality and ethical propriety, Lichtenstein's comics-based work has since become popular with collectors and is now widely accepted." This is a very loose summation of material in the body of the article. In my assessment this is an article on an individual painting. It can be acceptable to include material outside of the scope of an article on an individual work of art but I don't think it is advisable in this instance. This article is not an article on Copyright infringement as concerns the works of Roy Lichtenstein. That would seem to be a valid but complicated subject area. It is in my assessment a pollyannish expectation that a neutral and balanced tone can be achieved on that topic in this article. An area for exploration in a Wikipedia article is conceivable on the topic of the sourcing of images in Lichtenstein paintings. This would seem to be a generally valid area for an article. I think much material is out there on that topic. If one does a Google search on related terms one finds a lot of information on that topic. Someone may wish to create an article on that topic. That topic should be considered outside of the scope of an article on the painting Whaam!. I don't think a balanced treatment is obtainable on that topic in this article. That should be evident from the material on that topic in this article at this time. In the body of the article we find: "Although Lichtenstein's comic-based work is now widely accepted, concerns are still expressed by critics who say Lichtenstein did not credit, pay any royalties to, or seek permission from the original artists or copyright holders." This is outside of the scope of this article, and it is condemnatory, and it is gratuitous. (As an aside I think it is interesting to note that Lichtenstein was never sued for copyright infringement although the possibility exists that copyright holders threatened to sue but settled privately outside of court.) Bus stop ( talk) 20:38, 25 July 2013 (UTC)
Back on the treadmill again! The material is not "out-of-scope" or "out of left field". As has been pointed out repeatedly:
This discussion is not in the least enjoyable. The treadmill's wearing me out. Is there anyone out there who sees any merit in Bus Stop's position?
I'm going to quit replying to Bus Stop now unless someone comes in supporting his/her position. Anyone? Curly Turkey ( gobble) 03:57, 29 July 2013 (UTC)
Just a few things I've noticed. I haven't read the article closely. I think it could use a good copyediting.
——— Curly Turkey ( gobble) 01:23, 17 July 2013 (UTC)
Reception
——— Curly Turkey ( gobble) 02:03, 18 July 2013 (UTC)
On his wartime service:
I'm not sure how that squares with the 69th Infantry Division seeing 86 days of active combat, including Operation Lumberjack. I think his unit was the 269th Engineer Battalion. [25] The unit was clearly in harm's way occasionally ("two men were killed in battle, while another four died of wounds. A total of 14 men survived battle wounds") but not in the thick of it. (This is all good stuff for the biography, by the way.) -- Theramin ( talk) 00:19, 2 August 2013 (UTC)