The following text is the introduction of the published text: “Down the Rabbit Hole, up the Maelstrom”: Shaping the Digital Landscape, to Change Contemporary Art. Which has been published as a chapter in an edited book by Mike Hadjimichael published by Cambridge Scholars in 2015. For further reading send me a PM or find the book at an academic library.
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“Down the Rabbit Hole, up the Maelstrom”: Shaping the Digital Landscape, to Change Contemporary Art
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Keywords: Contemporary Art, Mobility Paradigm, Communication, Peripheralization, Media Convergence, Centralization and Decentralization.
Introduction
Developments in mobile communication technology, equipment, tools and the expansion of media channels is increasingly demanding a review of existing models and methods of production and exposure in the contemporary art industry. The use of these new technologies and communication methods are posing a critical note in regard to the function and ultimately to the relevance of art in its relation to a fast developing society. The underlying aims of this research is to isolate and provide understanding about changing attitudes, behaviors and implementations by exploring, through qualitative research, active art producing constituents in several disciplines of contemporary art in various locations globally dispersed. Detected impacts due to implementation and use of innovative technologies, converging media, converging disciplines and altered communication cultures will be isolated and highlighted. A definition of foreseeable consequences due to these alterations will be formulated into recommendations for an industry in transition to implement these fast developing technologies as their core means of communication and production. Hence reacting on a tendency of embracing new technologies as the primary means of production and communication, especially by the novice actors in the art producing industries. Additional ignoring these current innovative technological influences would question the industry’s capacity to reinvent itself, to rejuvenate itself as well as the possible consequences this might have on society in general.
Extensive observations done during contemporary art exhibitions in Europe in 2011 and 2012 revealed that new mobile and digital technologies are increasingly used by contemporary artists to produce, exhibit, and transport art and of course to communicate. The latter is becoming of primary importance to artists to profile and brand themselves, to advertise and disseminate representations of their work through social media and the internet, and lastly to create existence on the internet. The majority of interviewed artists expressed their concerns that by not being represented on the internet, they might be criticized of not existing at all. This provides strong indications that something fundamentally in contemporary art is changing, and when further analyzed starts to disclose signs of a shifting paradigm sparked by a changed utilization of new technology, exponential increased calculation power of processors, more efficient communication mechanisms, and innovations in the use of new mobile communication and production tools. Further these observations were leading to believe that convergence of telephony, networking and computers into small mobile, and internet connected devices are increasingly becoming an important component and instigator of these changes. If these transformative mechanisms consequently have the possibility to influence and amend the meanings and processes for the artists themselves or for the art market as a whole, is not clear yet? The art market itself has demonstrated throughout history, to maintain a static and unchangeable, highly conservative and preservative character. Existing research sources are limited in this very specific topic; most literature sources are somewhat outdated and especially when keeping in mind the fast evolving technological changes and changed behaviors by the constituents, of the by nature, explorative contemporary art territories. This research is not trying to predict a future for art, but is merely an endeavor to explore how actors of the contemporary art fields are thinking about the future of art, thinking about criteria’s in art and thinking about how art is shaping the world. This is done by asking twelve professional artists to give their opinion about certain issues in the arts. The interviewees are located globally and are in different stages of their career, and working in different segments and disciplines of the arts. Hereby emphasizing a globalized world by searching parallels in the opinions of the partaking artists. This research has its limitations. Its qualitative character and its modest scope are providing solely opinionated information of individuals and therefore is highly influenced by personal biases. No statistics will be used, but only examples. All conclusions are open for debate and this strongly suggests more and deeper research into different segments of topics as they are covered in this paper.
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For further reading:
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Maslic, A.D. (2015). Down the Rabbit Hole – Up the Maelstrom: Shaping the Digital Landscape to Change Contemporary Art. in M. Hajimichael (Ed.), Art & Social Justice: The Media Connection (pp. 83-94).