Technology has traditionally been seen as a resource-liberating tool, providing humans with improved access to resources such as knowledge, food, and energy. What is sometimes ignored is the transformative influence that technology may have on our capacity to produce art.
Many artists use their work to respond to a world of increasing change and rapid digitalization. Emerging creative techniques such as 3D printing, virtual reality, and artificial intelligence are allowing artists to express themselves in unexpected ways. Many artists are also embracing the emergence of intelligent machines and using the man-machine symbiotic relationship to produce more powerful works of art. Indeed, breakthroughs in robots and artificial intelligence are challenging the core concept of what it means to be an artist: making art is no longer limited to humans.
The beauty of self-expression
The times in which artists dwell have always affected their techniques and personalities. Technology is currently pushing the frontiers of creativity and sensory experience.
Some artists are employing digital technologies to involve their audience in the creative experience. Chris Milk’s “The Treachery of Sanctuary,” described as a “new aesthetic language,” is a magnificent example of digital art. The artwork employs projections of the users’ own bodies to investigate the creative process using digital birds, enabling participants to engage with the piece and have an engaging experience. The piece of art is incomplete without participation.
Artists are clearly no longer constrained by conventional means such as paint, stencils, or sculptures; instead, they pursue their creative desires and create more immersive experiences.
And what more immersive experience could there be than virtual reality?
“Nature Abstraction” by Matteo Zamagni transports viewers on a virtual meditation-like journey through enormous never-ending geometric and fractal patterns. According to Zamangi, he wishes to “present the audience something that is ordinarily invisible to our sensibilities but may be apparent differently.”
Virtual reality may enable artists to produce art in a virtual setting. Google Tilt Brush is an application that enables users to create works of art in a three-dimensional virtual realm, independent of artistic background or expertise. The Tilt Brush interface, described as “a fresh viewpoint in painting,” offers limitless creative possibilities.
As exponentially developing techniques like 3D printing and virtual reality become quicker, cheaper and more accessible, we will see more known and amateur artists resort to them to create, express and capture their visions.
Creating a new art world
Technology has not only made art creation tools more accessible, but it has also hastened the process by which art is financed, sold, and disseminated.
The effect of an artist is no longer limited by the physical boundaries of a gallery in the era of the internet and an increasingly connected globe. Access to art and the resources necessary to make your creative stamp are no longer limited to the privileged or the truly brilliant. Today’s artists can advertise their unique work to the globe at a minimal cost thanks to strong channels like social media and crowd-funding initiatives.
In the end, producing our imagination is an intrinsically human endeavor. We all want to express themselves, whether via words, images, or music. The creative possibilities are endless as new means of self-expression become more available to all of us.