I have been updating my website and getting more work loaded into the galleries. When I load an image I need to search for it based on it being shared here on AADW first. I was surprised that I had not shared the Orlando Shakespeare Theater poster for Charlotte’s Web. At the time the show was being performed, I had my back against the wall with lots of illustration work. I did not take the time to see and sketch the show. I am certain that it was an adorable children’s show. I have read the book and know it is a heart wrenching and beautiful story. I did do another version of the poster which was more of a cartoon rather than an illustration. I will share that tomorrow.
My website was in limbo for quite some time because all the page links started to fail. I spent an entire day last weekend calling Bluehost to try and figure out what needed to be done. Something had happened on their end and an 8 hour scan had to be done which ultimately fixed the issue. The problem was with the server. At first an agent thought it might be a malware attack and he scanned for that. Thankfully it was not a virus. The fear with that is that everything could just evaporate and disappear. I am very aware now that n=anything digital is temporary. At some point the internet will cease to exist and any information stored there will disappear.
Most of the silent era films no longer exist. That is because film is a delicate medium and prone to first degrade and then ignite on fire. An estimated 75% to 90% of all American silent films are permanently lost, largely because they were burned, allowed to decompose, or destroyed. Major causes included the high volatility of silver nitrate film stock, which caused massive, spontaneous studio vault fires.
Thomas Edison made the earliest silent films. His films still exist because he printed every frame on paper as well as film and thus his early films can be recreated whereas other films went up in smoke. I suspect that digital will have a similar issue. That which is not put on paper will in the end be lost.