I am baffled. I can’t wrap my head around this shit.
So there’s this guy, going around to artists inviting them to join his art group called The Degenerates. Now, to give a summary, this group claims to protect artists from copyright infringement. Even going so far as to claim that they aim to “abolish copyright”, and totes the banner of “free culture” which, based on their description, means that in this group your art is not your art. But rather, it belongs to everyone. It’s supposed to be this space of “free thinking” and “art discussion” where one can indulge in art free of class or status.
The introductory pages read like some sort of cult initiation or an extreme religious group’s recruitment poster. Here’s a few excerpts.
“Congratulations, my lady, gentleman, or enby friend. If you’ve made it this far, you’ve been noticed as someone special, by someone special. In creating consistently excellent work, you’ve earned the acclaim of our Prime Minister Froge, who has decided to extend a helping hand and invite you to our exclusive little collective.”
“The important thing to understand? You are not helpless. You have the capability to change the world, become a better person, do greater things than you know are capable of, and make a legacy for yourself that people will remember long after your death. Too many people live just to die. Not us. Not the Degenerates.”
and if you say no
“You’re probably looking for an outie. A red flag. A way to get out of having to read this. That’s fine; we know not everybody has the capacity to change the world, but we know they can at least be good artists. And whether or not you join us, you’ll still be a good artist. That’s why we invited you: because we honestly thought you were somebody special.”
^Passive aggressive piss water^
If you don’t mind a bit of a read, skim through these links, they’re something special. There is so much creepy, slimy salesman, scam dialogue in there it’s hard to believe it’s real.
But you want to know my favorite bit? This “Prime Minister Froge” being referred to in the third person like he wasn’t the one who wrote all of this shit by himself? The one being held aloft like some sort of religious idol? Here’s his DA page.
Here’s a screenshot of his bio.
“I can’t post anything right now, because DeviantART doesn’t like me using other people’s art. I’ll be happy to do so when they allow free culture to spread free, which will be the time apes have retaken the Earth.”
“DA won’t let me post other people’s art so it’s shit.”
But the best part?
If you’ve frequented drawthreads on 4chan in the past, that name may be familiar to you. NOW I HAVE NO GUARANTEE THAT THIS IN FACT HIM. DA has that as his country of origin. So this next bit is speculation only.
But it seems far too inline with personality and his obsessive fervor when it comes to horse art.
For those that don’t know, Zimbabwe is infamous on 4chan for being one of THE WORST artists to every sully this earth. Not just because he utterly failed to improve in any regard for years, but because he would lash out at the people who would try to help him; even if Zimbabwe himself had asked them for help. He was known to throw himself long winded pity parties when people didn’t care for his work, writhing up and down through an emotional roller coaster, even going so far as to threaten to kill himself at one point.
Yet through all of this, he heralds himself as some great art critic, who believes all artists must conform to his vision of “improvement”.
He was seemingly chased out of 4chan and now dwells primarily on derpibooru under a different name.
Now it seems he’s resurfaced as a sort of wannabe cult leader. In which artists are asked to sign over the rights to their own work and everyone is expected to follow the instructions of the grand leader Zimbabwe and his “ministers”.
“You’ll need to listen to Froge, our Prime Minister, and who in all likelihood was the one who sent you this invitation. We have a strong chain of command here, because we know that a bum leadership is the quickest way to kill a project. Follow the rules, be a respectful person, and listen to our ministers. Meet us halfway, and we’ll always meet you halfway.”
In short: A bitter, mentally unsound man with no artistic abilities of his own, who sees himself, against all evidence to the contrary, as something special-
“you’ve been noticed as someone special, by someone special.”
-is now trying to rope talented and growing artists into signing contracts to allow “everyone” (*Zimbabwe/the cult) to post their art and allow them (him) to gain notoriety from their work, since he could never actually do it on his own.
“I can’t post anything right now, because DeviantART doesn’t like me using other people’s art. I’ll be happy to do so when they allow free culture to spread free…”
This is some incredibly stupid bull, and while it seems completely unnecessary to say this: Don’t fall for this shit. Let this sad little man wither away on his own.
And even if I’m completely wrong to the identity of this wannabe Jim Jones, the whole premise of this group is still bat shit insane.
