Just as beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so is the value and beauty of art. In the olden days, before the communications revolution, it was a few assorted experts, art critics and art galleries that decided what was art and how desirable it was.
The saying is that art ought to be discussed as well as seen, but if you had no access to these all powerful people, it would not have even been seen. Except of course by your family and friends perhaps. Tragically this meant that a vast number of fantastic artists were never discovered.
This is really an unacceptable situation. Art should be accessible to anyone, and people should be able to discuss it, comment on it, and even submit their own art in places where artists and art enthusiasts gather.
Fortunately, the increasing availability of the Internet is changing the ways in which artists can present their work and invite feedback and discussion. The "Web 2.0" concept is all about using web technology to bring people together and create communities and social networking.
The wonderful part about this is, of course, that individuals are now no longer simply on the fringes and are able to make decisions for themselves. No longer are we restricted to just see the info that a minority of experts wants us to see, and to top it all up, we now have the capability to show our art to absolutely anyone without needing to be "discovered" by someone.
The simple truth is this: The trends in one way information entertainment such as commercial TV or newspapers are going downwards, where as interactive forms of entertainment such as online social communities and user-generated content is on a hugely popular increase. Personally, I hardly ever watch TV nowadays, simply because there is so much fantastic stuff on the web that TV, with all its ad breaks, has become boring to me.
The information revolution is also a massive boom to contemporary artists. Instead of waiting to be "discovered" by traditional galleries and art collectors, contemporary painters can simply display their work in one of the many online art galleries and communities.
Of course, this does not guarantee that one will be able to make a living from their art, but it certainly provides the springboard to what most artists desire most of all: Feedback and discussions about their art from their peers and enthusiasts. And the added bonus, the icing on the cake so to speak, is that their art can potentially be seen by millions.
The opportunities for artists wishing to put themselves across on the internet are ever growing. They can join special art communities and forums, display their art in major social communities, or start their own interactive website or blog. The latter giving them, of course, complete and utter license to display whichever type of art they so wish. Ranging from abstract art, landscape paintings, expressionism, surrealism, and all the way to whatever forms of art they desire to create.
The visitors are able to browse through the site at their own pace without feeling pressured to buy something. Of course they are also able to communicate with the artist and fellow art collectors via chat, discussion boards etc. Video Interviews, polls, workshops, discussion groups are just some of the things the online art gallerist is able to do to exchange their thoughts with their visitors. To top it all up site visitors can even commission art directly from the artist. The lanes of communication are limitless.
No more time consuming searches for galleries that are willing to exhibit the artists work. Thanks to the internet artists are now able to put themselves and their work right in front of art connoisseurs and potential buyers. No longer will they have to wait to be "discovered" by someone as web lets you discover them directly. - 16955
The saying is that art ought to be discussed as well as seen, but if you had no access to these all powerful people, it would not have even been seen. Except of course by your family and friends perhaps. Tragically this meant that a vast number of fantastic artists were never discovered.
This is really an unacceptable situation. Art should be accessible to anyone, and people should be able to discuss it, comment on it, and even submit their own art in places where artists and art enthusiasts gather.
Fortunately, the increasing availability of the Internet is changing the ways in which artists can present their work and invite feedback and discussion. The "Web 2.0" concept is all about using web technology to bring people together and create communities and social networking.
The wonderful part about this is, of course, that individuals are now no longer simply on the fringes and are able to make decisions for themselves. No longer are we restricted to just see the info that a minority of experts wants us to see, and to top it all up, we now have the capability to show our art to absolutely anyone without needing to be "discovered" by someone.
The simple truth is this: The trends in one way information entertainment such as commercial TV or newspapers are going downwards, where as interactive forms of entertainment such as online social communities and user-generated content is on a hugely popular increase. Personally, I hardly ever watch TV nowadays, simply because there is so much fantastic stuff on the web that TV, with all its ad breaks, has become boring to me.
The information revolution is also a massive boom to contemporary artists. Instead of waiting to be "discovered" by traditional galleries and art collectors, contemporary painters can simply display their work in one of the many online art galleries and communities.
Of course, this does not guarantee that one will be able to make a living from their art, but it certainly provides the springboard to what most artists desire most of all: Feedback and discussions about their art from their peers and enthusiasts. And the added bonus, the icing on the cake so to speak, is that their art can potentially be seen by millions.
The opportunities for artists wishing to put themselves across on the internet are ever growing. They can join special art communities and forums, display their art in major social communities, or start their own interactive website or blog. The latter giving them, of course, complete and utter license to display whichever type of art they so wish. Ranging from abstract art, landscape paintings, expressionism, surrealism, and all the way to whatever forms of art they desire to create.
The visitors are able to browse through the site at their own pace without feeling pressured to buy something. Of course they are also able to communicate with the artist and fellow art collectors via chat, discussion boards etc. Video Interviews, polls, workshops, discussion groups are just some of the things the online art gallerist is able to do to exchange their thoughts with their visitors. To top it all up site visitors can even commission art directly from the artist. The lanes of communication are limitless.
No more time consuming searches for galleries that are willing to exhibit the artists work. Thanks to the internet artists are now able to put themselves and their work right in front of art connoisseurs and potential buyers. No longer will they have to wait to be "discovered" by someone as web lets you discover them directly. - 16955
About the Author:
The author for this article is Anna Meenaghan, a contemporary artist, who has been involved in all the various forms of art most of her adult life. As a contemporary painter she recognises the various challenges and possible opportunities created for artists only too deeply. Not only does she reporting about them, but she also puts them into action. Comment by M. Bridger.
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