For class, we need to write a post about why technology in the arts is so important.
For me, it's an obvious combo. I've been raised on the internet, I am about as dependent on it as you can get. This techno-savvy also obviously extends out to digital photography, video, online entertainment, etc. I'm all over it, all the time. (Really, I come home from spending all day at a computer to sit all night... at my computer. It's sad, really. Someone please, please come get me out of the house.)
One would think, then, that I must not be cultured if I just sit in front of a glowing screen all my life? (OK, maybe this is an exaggeration. I do get out. Sometimes.) But no- all these new medias (media? mediums? mediae?) that surround my life have helped me to expand my knowledge of art and my personal network of artists. How do I find new plays to see? Galleries or festivals to visit? Where do I see a video of a new singer that I want to see live? Online. The internet and it's various outlets and media forms are the gateway to new, diverse, multi-cultured forms of expression. Once I can get a taste of something, see who else is enjoying it (thanks to social media invading every corner of the web), and get more information about where, when, and how, I am more apt to go.
And this is just in my personal life. Young adults and teenagers live and breathe the internet. We all have smartphones, laptops, cybershots. To get our attention, you need to speak our language. Younger students are going to sit up and pay attention once they see that they can connect the art they are learning in class to the art they enjoy through their various forms of new media. The internet and technology aren't going anywhere. It's crucial to create new, interesting connections between the arts and new media in order to stay relevant and fresh, because the students/ audiences are going to be online anyways, looking for the newest, freshest thing. We (as teachers/artists/arts admins) might as well be it.
I really like the playfulness of your rationale. It if very light and fun. If this blog is meant for a professional audience, then I would consider taking a more serious and analytical approach, but if it is meant for you to reflect upon your work and life, then I think it is perfect.
ReplyDeleteI also really like the color changes!