Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Igor Babailov

The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was delete. I hate deleting decent articles on real people. =( east.718 at 09:44, 11/4/2007

[edit] Igor Babailov

Igor Babailov (edit|talk|history|links|watch|logs) – (View log)

Self-promotion with no legitimate assertion of notability; largely ripped from here. Biruitorul 02:49, 29 October 2007 (UTC)

• Note: This debate has been included in the list of Visual arts-related deletions. —David Eppstein 18:00, 29 October 2007 (UTC)
• Delete per nom. Too many grandiose and unverified claims. Freshacconci | Talk 02:16, 30 October 2007 (UTC)
• Delete per nom. I couldn't find reliable sources to indicate notability. Doctorfluffy 17:24, 30 October 2007 (UTC)
• Delete per Biruitorul - Modernist 20:32, 30 October 2007 (UTC)
• Keep As the admin who declined speedy. I can see quite a lot on the net that's independent and reliable. This certainly asserts plenty of notability. Pedro :  Chat  11:03, 1 November 2007 (UTC)
• Keep Clearly has a stunning VIP client base of heads of state etc as a commissioned portraitist, and therefore notable. The article is terrible, but the sources are there. Johnbod 13:57, 3 November 2007 (UTC)
  • Then again, with circa 69 Google hits and no third-party references, how would we know any of this is true? Biruitorul 17:09, 3 November 2007 (UTC)
    • Comment I have to agree with Biruitorul here: someone can claim whatever they want on their own webpage, but there are little if any verifiable sources for this. It may all be true, but until those sources can be found, this should be deleted. freshacconci: speak to me 17:12, 3 November 2007 (UTC)

The unveiling photos with Mandela, Pope JP2, Putin, Brian Mulroney, Guliani etc on the website look pretty convincing to me. There is enough on Google to verify several of these independantly. Johnbod 18:38, 3 November 2007 (UTC)

He painted Mulroney? That won't earn him too many points where I come from. freshacconcispeaktome 18:50, 3 November 2007 (UTC)

A serious question: if the only evidence of notability comes from photos, can we use that? How do we use that? I'd be willing to change my !vote (I see this article as a good test of my objectivity; I don't care for this artist or what he stands for, but of course, that should be completely beside the point when discussing notability). How do we establish notability with what is available? If this article is saved, it needs a complete rewrite. freshacconcispeaktome 18:50, 3 November 2007 (UTC)

• Delete. Multiple authoritative sources do not seem to be present to confirm the notability of the artist (apart from the reflected notability of his subjects). I think this is a case of an artist working within a particular world but not achieving notability beyond it. We should not be seduced by pictures of him shaking hands with celebrities. Pedro was right to decline the speedy, but in the final analysis if the artist isn't the subject of press articles or books, if he hasn't won major awards, if his works are not held in the collections of major museums, he shouldn't be in the encyclopedia.--Ethicoaestheticist 23:02, 3 November 2007 (UTC)

If he is commissioned by major heads of state arouind the world, that makes him notable, though clearly he won't be appearing in the normal contemporary art press. But that world is not the only world. There is evidence from Google and his site that I can't be bothered to work up of many articles etc. I think there is an element of aesthetic snobbishness in some of these comments. I don't like his art either, but think he is notable. 23:25, 3 November 2007 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Johnbod (talk • contribs)

The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.