Belinda Lindhardt

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Where will my art be in the future ?

http://www.news.com.au/technology/gallery/0,23607,5037070-5014321,00.html
I just came across this article in todays paper, it showscases all types of new technologies being developed. There are examples of phones, computers, screens etc all ways to communicate in the future, its amazing. Many of these things being developed i imagine wont be too far away relatively speaking. Just look at the development in recent years, I was only just thinking the other day about my first pc which my dad bought when i was a kid(which was a "VIC 20") which was before commodore 64 it didnt have a harddrive and didnt have a mouse. I had to sit and program lines of code for ages just to get it to flash colourful hearts on the screen. I am sure it cost a bomb at the time.

Seeing all the photos in the article leads me to think about my art, where will it be in the future? People today and especially our youth are bombared by so much imagery and with the technology in cameras, phones etc almost everyone is a "photographer" or a webdesigner.
Even just in my 12 years of doing graphic design, not many people knew about graphic design when i first started and in particular things like editing photos, setting up webpages. Many would not have even considered doing it themselves. Yet today people, with the advance of technology do it everyday for both private and business use. (doesnt mean they should just because they can - but thats a different post).
So what about your / my art in the future, how will it compete all the imagery that even today is going on around it? Why would people pay to have your art rather than a photo or a cool pic on their screen ? Would they really care about the skills/techniques you have learnt in order to make that art?
How will people view art? With so these "screens" and technology available everywhere would people really have space for a pictuure on the wall ? Or would it be viewed via a screen ? But then how is your "art" different from just a photo which has been edited in photoshop? (apart from the physical presence of it rather than a computer file).
hmmm lots of things to ponder and i am just blabbering, i am not sure what the answer is but i know its something that i have tried to do with all my recent pieces is to make it tell a story or present a circumstance or emotion. Maybe emotions is what will pull it through rather than being like everything else out there!

4 comments:

Valerie Jones said...

Belinda, this is a thought provoking post. I haven't thought about how my art will look in the future or how it will be displayed. It is definately worth researching.

Anonymous said...

yep interesting. :)

I do think that there will always be a place for things that are physically there - on the wall or in the hands.

I think the thing that has changed the most is us - how sophisticated we are as visual consumers. My kids sure look at things in a different way than I used to, and a big part of that is the visual bombardment. Which is good and bad.

Rose Welty said...

I've been thinking about this post and that article since I read it yesterday. I honestly am not sure what to think.

Yes society is getting slicker and farther and farther removed from the physical world and closer and closer to a virtual world...but will it mean an end to art on the wall? Will art on the wall seem "clunky"? Will our paintings suffer because they don't change every 30 seconds to a different painting? Hmm...not so sure. I do think that emotion and storytelling are what will make art last - what is the Mona Lisa's attraction - it's not the color scheme, it's not that it's an incredible 3D effect - it's the mystery of that smile. Or, Guernica for example, it says more than words can say...that's what makes it so noteworthy.

All that to say...I think I just added several more "think" slots to my to-do list for my artwork. :D

Belinda Lindhardt said...

Thanks everyone :)
I am really glad that this post has made some people think, its actually wasn't intended that way but i am glad it has :) definitely food for thought :)