In an Smashing Magazine article.
This article explores the meaning of art and an attempt to understand the relationship between art and artists, via interviews with both traditional and digital artists.
I’ll provide some of the questions and answers from the article and my thoughts
Question: Can we trace a line from traditional to contemporary art?
Alexander Daniloff: I don’t think we can say anything without falling into controversy, even me. I have a traditional view and prefer artwork that speaks for the artist or period. I can’t explain what contemporary art is, or at least what it’s meant to be. Yes, you can trace a line from traditional to contemporary art, but not a straight one. Perhaps it is a parabola that goes up and then down, or a spiral. We don’t know. All we can say is that the art market has developed, which affects the art itself. With what we call contemporary art, words and explanations are always worth more.
Jonathan Ball: Yes, most definitely [we can draw a line from traditional to contemporary art]. Many of the same techniques are used, just in slightly different ways and with different tools. The same principles apply, however you create art.
I see a line particularly running through the stylized form of Japanese art such as Hokusai and contemporary stylized graphic illustration.
Digital Art
Question: Would you say that art and the new, social Web have a connection? Are social media a viable way to improve artistic communities?
Jonathan Ball: Of course. Art has a connection to anything in our environment that influences its creators. As far as social media goes, I think being able to communicate better is always an improvement.
Travis Lampe: Social media is great for sharing results; it’s allowed me to connect with and see the work of other artists who I admire on a constant basis. And it makes working long hours in a basement a bit less of a lonely enterprise when you can show the world what you’ve done the moment you’ve finished. On the other hand, social media are a constant distraction. When I want to get work done, I disconnect. So I love it and hate it equally.
Communication And Self-Promotion In The New Web
Question: Do you have a portfolio website? And which social networks are you currently on?
Bob Flynn: I have a website, but I’m very lazy about updating it. And I find I get less traffic there compared to, say, my blog, which is infinitely easier to add to. A portfolio website is more of a structured presentation, which is great for art directors and people looking to make a professional assessment of your work. It’s often static, and it offers little to no opportunity for two-way communication. You get little to no interaction with the art community except for a friendly email or two a month. A blog is dynamic and opens that dialogue. I now think of my website as a hub to help direct people where they need to go.
In addition to having a blog (my primary point of communication), I’m currently on Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and, most recently, Google Buzz. Is being on all of them worth it? Probably. I’ve found that you really can’t be in too many places—though there is certainly a sanity threshold. A different audience traffics each social space (with some overlap), so the way to reach the most people is to be everywhere.
Twitter is currently the best place to track people in the industry and to communicate with your peers—but not everyone is there. Facebook is where most everyone else is, although juggling friends, family and business is admittedly cumbersome. You have to weed through the clutter (I’m less a fan of its increasingly unwieldy interface), but you can certainly get traction over there. Flickr is the most straightforward: upload artwork, leave and receive comments. Buzz is new to the game and still hasn’t developed an identity of its own. But it’s another place you should probably be.
I can track most job leads and connections back to a tweet here or a comment there. Not to mention great friendships. Simply by spending time in these spaces, saying “Hi” and participating in a positive way, you really can’t go wrong.
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