Tuesday, March 18, 2008

How does technology mediate the artist's experience?

Different people are inspired by different things. Whether an artist or not this inspiration forges a desire to make something...maybe even leave a piece of yourself behind for future generations as Socrates claimed. In recent decades technology has only complemented this desire to materialize inspiration into something that will remain perceived by the senses for years to come as opposed to only the fleeting moment in time, no matter how wonderful that moment may be.Technology not only helps one capture the inspiration but also allows artists to manipulate it into what may easily become yet another source of inspiration. Technology allows an emphasis to be drawn on something that may have otherwise been glanced over, making each and every aspect of the piece valuable. The transcending quality of technology through the times has brought about many positive advances and allows anyone to be their own artist; art is no longer paint on a canvas. It has so successfully broadened horizons that the international community should take note of it's harmonious cohesion.
On a personal level, the transition from brushes to mouses and paint to digital pictures was not as powerful as it was to some, I'm sure. Not to devalue modern technology, but the art created from the old school brushes on canvas is so much more inspirational for me at this point in my life. It is all really just personal preference and to answer how technology mediates the artistic experience...I would have to say that without technology the scope of man made art would be shallow because even a pencil was once a technological advance.

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