the artist has been framed

Someone suggested (in email capitals.....so, suggested quite loudly) that I insert a photo of my ugly mug on my website about my art.....said that a picture of the artist makes the whole thing seem more personalized, lets the viewer have a long-distance relationship with the artist, yadda, yadda, yadda. Said "This is non-negotiable, in my not so humble opinion"; I said "blah, blah, bah humbug!). And, I imagined a gallery of artists - literally....the real artists in living, breathing, squirming color, all hanging inside frames, maybe suspended by their pigtails from nails in the wall; every viewer could get to see the artist up-close-and-frighteningly-personal, maybe get to smell his/her garlic breath, even hear a few sacred words if the hanging artist hasn't fainted from pain.

As for pictures....Well, I personally DON'T want my photo on my page. In fact, I really hate it when people insist on putting a picture of the artist on the site with their work. Aside from the fact that I haven't had a flattering photo of myself since grade school (I usually look mentally retarded, insane or like a serial killer), I also like viewers to react to my work, not to me. Yes, I am the producer of the work, which means that my "essence" is transferred to and expressed through the work. But, I want the response to be to the work itself, not biased by what they think they "read" in my face.

Philosophically/emotionally, though, I'm dead set against the artist's photo being there......so, expect a bit of stubborn balking here.

I know that I'm probably in a tiny minority here (although R.O. seemed to agree with me during one discussion we had several weeks ago). Personally, I tend to overlook all the biographical info about the artist as a lot of distracting "trivia" - prefer "all that crap" to be a footnote instead of "cover jacket information", which I can reference if and only if I have particular questions about how the artist's life may have led to the final product. Call me an impersonal schmuck, but most of the time I don't give a damn; the artist's face and personal story don't change how I feel towards the outcome (art) being presented to me. That Van Gogh was nuts and chopped off his ear doesn't influence how I feel towards his art. The message is more important than the messenger.