How Technology is Changing the Art World

How Technology is Changing the Art World

 

Art history shows that artists have always sought new art forms and unconventional mediums to express their artistic principles. Various avant-garde movements that started mushrooming in the early 20th century fundamentally challenged the traditional perception of art. 

Artists emerging from these progressive movements introduced new non-artistic materials, like books, magazines, cloths, household items, and many other everyday objects as perfect art mediums, stating that true artists can make artworks out of anything. This is how mixed media art was born, marking an exciting new era in the evolution of art.

 

Photo by Akwice

 

The development of technology has continued walking hand-in-hand with progressive artistic concepts and has changed the way art is created and shared, enabling groundbreaking artists and their innovative expressions to gain expanded access to whole new audience groups beyond the conventional boundaries of the art world. We could only ask ourselves whether Andy Warhol’s vast oeuvre would have developed in the same direction if it had not been for silk-screen printing technology and readily available cameras?

Nowadays, artists don’t use technological innovations only as assistants in their creative process. Many artists and art professionals are transforming the art world by leveraging these powerful technologies and tools as an art and design medium, allowing them to create striking, immersive, and highly engaging art pieces that are new and multi-disciplinary mixed media art and installations.

This article will show how the rapid development of advanced digital technology changed the world of art forever, pushing the boundaries of people’s perception and understanding of art.

 

A Short History of Digital Art

 

People started tackling the idea of blending visual art and technology in the ‘60s. The first attempt to bring together technology and art in the creative process takes us to 1967. Back then, a group of New York artists including John Cage, Robert Rauschenberg, Robert Whitman, and Yvonne Rainer and more, worked with engineers and scientists from the world-renowned Bell Laboratories to create ground breaking performances incorporating new technology. These first installations and performances promoting the use of technology in creating art set a cornerstone for further digital art development.

 

We have already mentioned Andy Warhol as one of the most influential artists who used modern technology, such as video, film and screen printing to make his art more visible and accessible. However, it is a little-known fact that Warhol was also one of the pioneers of digital art. Namely, he created digital drawings on an Amiga computer to advertise the computer system and their software program as a brand ambassador for the computer company, Commodore International. All of this happened in 1985, but Andy Warhol’s digital art pieces were lost and forgotten until 2014 when they were discovered and recovered by artist Cory Arcangel, a NYC based multimedia artist and a fanatic Andy Warhol fan, in the attempt to find and restore the images by staff and student-members of Carnegie Mellon University’s computer club. From July 2017 to November2019, the Warhol Museum exhibited these historic pieces of Warhol’s groundbreaking digital art using the original medium, a vintage Amiga.

 

Andy Warhol digital artwork

 

The nineties brought the internet and started the technology revolution. People soon recognized the vast possibilities of this virtual global network, and the digital art scene started booming. The internet helped numerous artists make their artwork more visible, increasing accessibility to worldwide audiences. Advanced technology also enabled the artist to transform and manipulate their artwork, thus becoming a significant art medium.

The new millennium introduced numerous significant digital artists that use advanced technology to make memorable installations and performances. We will mention some of the most significant artists and artistic events to promote technology as an art medium.

 

Conclusion

 

All these fascinating artists and their artwork prove how advancing technology is transforming the art world and the perception of art. Technology has also given more people access to the arts, giving art enthusiasts and collectors platforms to build their art collection and share with others. Technologies and social media have also revolutionized the traditional art scene by allowing people to express their deepest emotions and beliefs through interactive and highly-engaging digital art pieces and projects.

From AI (Artificial Intelligence), VR (virtual reality) and AR (augmented reality) to digital designs and 3D printers, technologies and social media have disrupted the contemporary art and art market in so many different ways, changing how art is created, consumed and shared in our connected world. Besides being a versatile and expressive art medium, technology helps artists gain much-needed visibility and exposure for their works of art. Numerous online art platforms help them promote their work and stay connected with the artistic community.

 

Virtual technology brings masterpieces closer to the audience, helping us understand the artistic vision and its history to a broader public. Many world-famous art museums organize online tours to open their doors to global audiences for those who are otherwise inaccessible. Some museums are using technological novelties to develop mobile apps that answer visitors’ questions right at their fingertips. We are excited to see where the application of advanced technology in art is going to take us next. Whatever the future holds, we are sure that it will continue to transform how artists express and share their creative force to inspire and influence the best of humanity.

 

Artdrei 2022