In a time when many artists and illustrators are struggling to find work in a shrinking job market, the news that an insanely profitable media monster like Google can't seem to find their chequebook is distressing, to say the least.

After the news got some exposure through artists' blogs and hubs like Drawger, the New York Times picked up the story today (June 15).

Google put out a call to dozens of prominent artists to contribute designs for its new browser search engine, trumpeting it as "an opportunity for artists to display their work in front of millions of people”. In other words, for free—the old "exposure" dodge.

Try paying your rent with exposure some time; I can personally vouch for the fact that it doesn't work. Likewise trying to buy a chunk of cheddar cheese with, "hopefully this will lead to paying work in the future". Yes, maybe in the future I can eat. I mean, we all have to have goals.

Noted Toronto illustrator Gary Taxali has been particularly vocal about the offer, turning Google down flat, adding, “So for you, I give you a special salute that I hope will keep you away because I don’t need your work,” accompanied by a drawing of a sour-faced cartoon hand protruding its middle finger. Hey—they got some free artwork after all!

Most of these artists get plenty of exposure, whether it's through TV animation work, greeting cards, CD covers, or editorial work—and they get paid for it. It's called a "professional career".

Google's defensive response on the matter shows an alarming inability to even grasp what the artists are carping about. “While we don’t typically offer monetary compensation for these projects,” their statement reads, “through the positive feedback that we have heard thus far we believe these projects provide a unique and exciting opportunity for artists to display their work in front of millions of people.”

Uh-huh. That still doesn't explain why you can't skim a few measly shekels off your mountainous pile to pay for a product in the time-tested tradition of commerce and capitalism. Maybe their company HQ toilets are also unique and exciting and plumbers are lining up to work on them for free.

I've grappled with this issue for years. It just never goes away. I was never quite able to understand why this spec work/exposure crap seemed so prevalent until one particularly clueless and cheap "client" summed it up for me by positing, "But don't you draw pictures all day anyway?"

Although I knock on wood daily that I have been fortunate enough to make a living as an artist, this is just one more big stinky example of how artists seem to be born with a "shaft me" sign on their backs.