The State of Illustration

I was asked by my tutor to listen to a podcast from http://www.graphicdesignontheradio.com/ called the state of illustration, presented by Adrian Shaughnessy and to give my own opionion on the state of illustration. Shaughnessy discusses the state of illustration with rodrick mills- an illustrator ,Jeff Granfield- an illustrator and an educator and darryl clifton- an educator. He starts by telling us about the different ways in which illustration works; it conveys commercial messages,it tells stories, it relays information,it makes editorial and political statements, it works into childrens books and it worksin graphic novels,it can add style and meaning to everything from t shirts to the posters you pin on your wall. Shaughnessy asks his guests to each to give him a snapshot of what they think illustration is today. Rodrick starts by saying he currently thinks "it is a hybrid of many forms and it transmutes into many areas, but he thinks that it has very core meanings or substance. He says it is a visual language, a personal visual world and tells a story." Jeff describes illustration as "a fantastic, plastic medium that can really go in any direction , however this makes it confusing for people to know what to do with it, in the past it was largely about a craft skill which was a representation of someone elses ideas, as a result the illustrator didnt get a chance to think conceptually but represented a particular style for hire. This has created a legacy where it is more about the actual craft of making  rather than the discipline of thinking visually."
Darryl says "he thinks jeff has summed up what he think illustration is about currently , he thinks it has been unfashionable for a while to think about any of the visual arts in terms of having a conceptual or discipline base to them.He thinks illustration is one of those ways of thinking that bears scrutiny now. For him illustration is about a discipline and a way of thinking than being just about the way the imagery is used. He thinks we need to look at the notion of owning the means of production in some way. We need to revert to the late 19th century way of thinking."
Shaughnessy  talks about the root of the word illustration being the same as the word illuminate - illustrators illuminate text and make it come alive visually. Darryl thinks "people naturally capitalise on the style of an illustration. He thinks "illustrators by default thats solves problems for people ."