07-15-12 Frank (Revisited and Reworked)

When I check the viewing statistics of my photo blog, I can see which photos are viewed most often and and what links brought people to my web site. Last week I noticed that my post from a while ago called "Frank" was getting the most hits, which were coming from another web site called Facepunch.com. Facepunch seems to cater to a broad set of interests, including the graphic arts.It turns out that a user who calls himself Bakyte had posted a reworked version of my photo that looks like this:And then the citizens of the forum were encouraged to fill in the blank.Before I reveal a few of my favorites, I would like to mention that all of my posts are shared through a Creative Commons copyright that allows for use as long as credit is given, no money is made and the original work is not altered. I don't want to sound selfish, but Bakyte violated at least two of those provisions. I did politely inform him of my concerns and he politely said he would try to remove the posts if he could.That aside, I enjoyed many of the modifications and will share four of my favorites:And last, one that was inspired by the group A Ha's song "Take On Me":And why not watch the A-Ha official "Take On Me" video? It was aired on MTV in 1985, won many awards and is a brilliant display of the animator's art. It also does a brilliant job of linking a fascinating visual story with a song that is otherwise insipid! In some ways, that's what MTV was all about in the 80s . . .The work of art, incidentally is called Frank, by Chuck Close. It is a photorealistic painting of a photo of a guy named Frank.