“How the advent of new communication technologies has influenced visual art”
New communication technologies have influenced visual arts in many forms. They have changed the way art is created, viewed, preserved and replicated throughout history and re-invented societies perceptions of what “art” really is. The dictionary defines visual art as, “Art work, such as painting, photography, or sculpture, that appeals primarily to the visual sense and typically exists in permanent form” (Answers.com, 2008). Technological advances can be seen today to be allowing art to break the boundaries of this statement, as can be seen with new media art, which is an impermanent and an ever-changing creation, and these advances will continue to expand the concept of Visual Art further in the future.
In ancient society, art was seen as a trade not a creative outlet and “painters and sculptors differed merely in their competence or capability in applying the rules of their trade. They were admired for how well they mastered the rules, for their technique and skills” (Witcombe, 1997).
As new technologies were slowly introduced to the world of visual art, societies attitudes towards arts changed and artists began to be recognised for their creative efforts, as musicians and poets had previously been in Ancient times (Witcombe, 1997).
The introduction of photography is an important event relating to societies perceptions of art as this technology…” freed the hand of the most important artistic functions which henceforth devolved only upon the eye looking into a lens”(Benjamin, 1936). Which is an example of the importance of the physical technique and talent of the artist diminishing and simply the creativity of the artists mind and their mastery of the new technology playing a role in the creation of art. The effect of new technologies influencing artists has caused societies concept of what should be considered “art” to be pushed to its very limits in the post modern era. (Danto, 1997), supports this claim when he states, “after Andy Warhol exhibited simulacra of shipping cartons for Brillo boxes in 1964, anything could be art. Warhol made it no longer possible to distinguish something that is art from something that is not.” Technology has forced visual arts away from its traditional roots and into an increasingly more abstract form.
The advent of the computer is an important date in art history, “The first computer-generated images were created in the early 1960s. They were simple, abstract drawings and animated images. Since then, digital art has evolved into a sophisticated and highly elaborate art form” (Haywood, 2004). Digital Art, has now gained acceptance in the visual arts world, “Digital art in all its forms is gaining prominence among artists, curators and audiences. There have been several recent exhibits focusing on different subsets of digital art, including Internet art..”(Berwick, 2001). Forms of internet art can include avatars which are images created by users to reflect a part of themselves and to communicate with others in an online environment (Liao, 2008). Avatars can be seen to be the new self portrait as they can encapsulate characteristics of their creator. Even the online environment that people use to communicate utilizing their avatar (such as “Second Life”) is claimed to be visual art as it is an ever-changing visually stimulating entity created and manipulated by the users. These are all parts of new media art. “New media art encompasses the use of digital technologies and the Internet as media, but new media art is more than these. It is both a hybrid production and an interplay between art, technology, and humans…” (Liao, 2008).
New communication technologies have affected the environment in which we view traditional art and also its availability and convenience. For example, the Internet has allowed us to view an image of Leonardo Da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa” in our own home at any time (Blog, 2006). This has also opened a window for fine art parody as we see in the manipulated images of the Mona Lisa, which portray her as an alien or “The Scary Lisa” (Blog, 2006).
Recently, traditional art techniques have been incorporated with new technologies. Today “…even paint on canvas can be controlled digitally. Using common illustration software such as creol draw, adobe illustrator, Maya, and many more, you can actually paint an entire painting using only an electronic pen hooked up to a pad….”(Freeman, 2006).
Popper(1997), states that “New technologies not only provide artists with new ways of expression but also involve artists in every facet of life”
and so it has been suggested and supported in this essay that although new technologies have changed the original definition of “Art” and the way it is created and viewed, this has been a credit to artists, as it has fostered increased creativity and specialization, and has allowed visual art to be enjoyed by the wider community, more frequently and conveniently.
REFERENCE LIST:
ANSWERS.COM (2008) Dictionary Definition for Visual Art.
BENJAMIN, W. (1936) The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television.
BERWICK, C. (2001) The new new-media blitz. ARTnews, 100, 1.
BLOG, A. N. (2006) Famous Paintings – The Mona Lisa Painting.
DANTO, A. C. (1997) After the End of Art: Contemporary Art and the Pale of History, Princeton: Princeton University Press
FREEMAN, N. (2006) A Brief Evolution of Art and the Influence of Technology on Photography:
The Accident of Art.
HAYWOOD, C. (2004) Exhibit explores how technology has influenced art.
LIAO, C. L. (2008) Avatars, SECOND LIFE®, and New Media Art: The Challenge for Contemporary Art Education. Art Education Reston, 61, 5.
POPPER, F. (1997) Art Of The Electronic Age, Thames and Hudson Ltd.
WITCOMBE, P. C. L. C. E. (1997) Art & Artists in the Ancient World and Middle Ages.
…which is funny because now my mum uses her mobile phone more than me and I am unsure what made her change her stance on that peice of technology?
