Consider
to what extent the digital revolution can be seen to have aided or diminished
creativity
Defining creativity
Before considering the
influence of the digital revolution it is essential to define creativity. Creativity is mans innate desire to make,
copy, represent and record his world. This
desire was first answered by prehistoric cave dwellers depicting the hunt. These were probably instructional diagrams,
but are beautiful in their own right and are therefore also decorative. The Planet, Nature and Human beings are
inextricably entwined so that much creativity is based on nature and its
forms. Creativity exists in 3D as sculptures,
buildings and monuments as well as in 2D, in drawings paintings and
graphics. It extends further into
everything that man does – he talks, writes, builds, gardens, designs – all are
creative activities.
“Let us suppose that the
idea of Art can be expanded to embrace the whole range of man-made things,
including all the tools and writing in addition to the useless, beautiful and
poetic things of the world. By this view
the Universe of man-made things simply coincides with the history of art. The oldest surviving things are stone
tools. A continuous series runs from
them to today.”
George Kubler (1912-1996) from The Shape of
Time.
Creativity is therefore evolutionary.
Why create?
Man reacts to his senses,
sight, smell, hearing, touch, and taste.
His experience is first stimulated by sight which is closely connected to
light. Everything is seen by light
bouncing off objects. The effects of
light are massive. The sun’s rays
descending through clouds to highlight a patch of ground, the rainbow, the
oppressive grey that descends before snow falls, the brightness of sun on
flowers on a summer’s day. All are
spectacular and cause emotional reactions within each and every one of us.
Sometimes these emotions
are extremely strong. They spur people
to “talk” about their experiences and communicate. Man does not do well alone. In some it spurs the desire to record their
experience. This too, is an innate
desire, always present, which needs to be answered.
The number of people who
say “Oh I wish I could draw or paint” is legion. The truth is they can. They choose not to acknowledge that to reach
a peak in any activity involves work. A
bricklayer learns to lay a straight neat wall.
He has to learn to mix cement, to load his bricks with mortar, to use
string to keep his lines straight and so on.
He does not achieve perfection first time. He needs guidance and practice.
The artist learns to hone
his ability and increase the effect he desires with years of practice, whether
he works realistically or abstractly.
Historical and emotional
context
There is a famous story of
the oriental master who takes on an apprentice but for years only lets him
sweep floors. Every morning the master
creeps up behind the lad and hits him hard.
Finally the frustrated apprentice watches and listens carefully enough
to fend off the blow. The old master smiles
and tells the boy to go and get his brushes.
The pupil is puzzled as to why he is not punished but rewarded by being
allowed to paint but the tutor explains that as he is finally aware enough to
stop the blow he is aware i.e. sensitive enough to learn to paint! Across the World a child with a pencil
sharpens it, breaks the point and learns that line can have infinite
possibilities of depth and firmness. He
may then experiment and understand that a line is so subtle that its lack of
presence allows the brain to fill it in.
This lesson that ‘less is more’ is one that occurs throughout the world
and can be seen especially in line drawings of the human body.
Artists speak much about
“Truth” and “Seeing”.
Many members of the
general public however pass through life with tunnel vision. They do not “see” the world. They enjoy sunny days but fail to see any beauty
in rain, or cold, or fog.
The artist is aware and
experiences more deeply. His work
highlights everything from beauty to outrages so that his audience “see” with
his perspective.
We are all capable of
seeing and experiencing our World but are all different in our
perceptions. An artist can produce an
image which focuses our emotions and causes a response which may shock or
please us. We therefore “see” as the
artist sees without the hard work which he has experienced to produce that
image.
We all have the same 5
senses but are lazy and don’t use them, and a sense not used becomes dulled,
whereas a sense used and pushed to its limits will become more sensitive. The majority may well prefer to sit comfortably
and view the world through a television screen than walk along a rainy winter
beach.
The television viewers
will use their eyes and ears but the walkers will use eyes, ears, touch, smell,
and even taste if the wind is salty!
The balance has to be
weighed carefully, one is a second hand experience which may well be diluted,
the other is a firsthand experience which may well be keener.
To live well we should
stimulate all our senses frequently..
The Digital Revolution
The digital revolution has
brought an ease of access to creativity for everyone. Previously only the few people who went to
galleries saw art originals. Books
offered an extension of this with plates showing a replica image, .but size was
lost and so was texture, and the aura of the original work. However the majority of the population saw
nothing because art was not accessible enough.
A mass of cultural richness was being ignored.
What are artists looking
for?
Artists have always
questioned, regardless of which era they belong or movement they support. They need to communicate. Gaugin wrote many letters to Andre Fontainas,
to Van Gogh, to his wife, and his friends. Many other artists write letters or poems
because communicating begets the desire to communicate and writing is another
form of creativity. Furthermore many artists
feel unsure and seek companionship for verbal support or to forge emotional links.
Artists also react deeply. For example between the ages of eleven and
sixteen Gaugin was indoctrinated as a pupil by the Bishop of Orleans, Felix
Antoine Philibert Dupanloup with the following questions.
“Whence do we come?”
“What are we?”
“Where are we going?”
These questions have
nothing to do with the canvas, but extend to man’s position in the Universe.
Perhaps we create to
establish our own position in the Universe.
We could add the question: -
“Why are we here?”
This document cannot consider
every art style, but can attempt to identify what it is that artists search for. Although every artist works within his own
timescale and its influences they all search and question. They are all
“driven” to create.
“An artist is given talent
in order that he can give life to his share of creation and increase the flow
of life”
Kasimir Malevich (1878 –
1935) in Cubism and Futurism to Supermatism: The new realism in painting.
Malevich’s quote rings
true and extends beyond any particular era or genre. Thus we see that there are core values which
transcend eras, schools and timescales.
Creativity achieved
through Imagination, Light, Truth, and Symbolism, being satisfied through
Expression.
These values echo down
throughout the ages, satisfying those who value realism, those who see no value
in realism, sculptors, designers, and architects alike. Creativity is satisfied.
Everyone can create in a
way that satisfies their soul and to the best of their ability. Some will produce a vast amount, others
little. Every creation should be valued
and respected. It is wrong to criticise,
to replace or remove. We need to share,
and have a greater appreciation thus having a sound foundation from which we
can build.
We have been guilty of
forgetting that creativity does not just involve the western world. We have long ignored much of what the rest of
the world has to offer. Creation is all
inclusive.
We seek Enlightenment
which encompasses all creation: - poetry, writing, building, drawing, painting,
embroidery, tapestry, buildings, monuments, vehicles, machines, scientific
discoveries, in fact everything!
This leads us to the
present day and the digital world. Has
it aided or diminished creativity?
Undeniably the digital revolution
has had a profound effect on contemporary art and culture.
Here are
two examples where reality has been usurped through digital media
Born out of the electronic
revolution, it has resulted in the globalisation of mass media and the birth of
the internet. It has more potential for
change than anything that has gone before, catapulting us into an era of
interaction. The computer has enabled
creation in every direction. For artists
it has allowed intricate images, repetitive images, sculptures formed on databases
and interactive installations, not to mention a worldwide audience.
We are now on the cusp of
a further revolution as digital printing becomes established, allowing the
creativity to be generated in 3D form.
The boundaries expanded in
the mid 1990’s as museums and galleries could be accessed electronically. Artwork began to use the computer as a
primary tool, medium, or creative partner, communicating on 4 levels: -sensory,
emotional, mental, and spiritual.
Traditionally art reached a
limited audience, now it is communication available to all and has entered the
home removing the need for the general public to go to it. Creativity appeals to the synchronicity of
body, heart, and mind – reactions are complex, but reactions improve the human
state.
Visual attraction is
strong, as we react involuntarily. Our
vision and hearing are dominant senses yet digital art stimulates the other
senses as well, it stimulates curiosity, making spiritual links and can be fun,
inspirational, emotional, educational, or non intellectual, even non emotional.
Creativity touches the
soul. Artists have been involved with
its process since time began, Critics with its results or value. The digital revolution extends the
boundaries, being linked to science and technology which were fundamental to
its creation and physical substance. It
is an evolutionary development of the mechanical and electrical processes of
photography, film and video.
(Photography having itself evolved from drawing and painting.).
The technology has
exploded with hardware, microcontrollers, sensors, and software packages that
control machine routines, which allow for new art experiences. There are interactive environments, robotics,
and data driven installations that read real time information from the
internet.
Virtual reality allows the
creation of an immense experience. A new
synthetic world is introduced.
Char Davies; Forest Stream, 1998. Digital still image captured during immersive
performance of the virtual environment “Ephemere”
Digital animation has
transformed traditional animation, formerly done entirely by hand with
literally thousands of drawings, which meant collaborative work, can now be
completed alone if desired.
It has a new look and with
it new forms of software, databases and game art.
Now there is net art, with
new freedoms. It allows artists to
bypass the traditional gallery and reach an immediate audience.
The digital age has
brought an ease of access to art for everyone.
The parent who didn’t allow
paint at home because of the mess stifled their child’s creativity. Now a computer runs software which will
enable its owner to paint or draw with no mess.
I feel the machine has intervened and the sense of touch experience by a
child with its fingers covered with paint is lost. The computer software removes this personal
contact.
Consequently we have a
situation where the ability to create is extended to all at all times but
creativity is curtailed because of the machine.
However the digital revolution
has linked the world. It has offered a fair
playing field where every single person can create as and how they desire. They have new tools to use which remove the
need for years of practice. They can
manipulate programs to achieve any end.
Those growing up with computers are literate in this new modern medium
and can use it well. There is no end to
the possibilities. It is clear that the
digital revolution has aided creativity by enabling everyone to create, to see
that communication is important to the soul, and to communicate so that
learning and education is facilitated.
The digital revolution has
allowed disabled people a new extended access.
People who could not communicate can do so. People who could not write because of
arthritis can use touch screens easily.
Emails allow everyone to talk quickly and easily. For these people the digital age has extended
their senses. The benefits are
legion.
All this disguises danger
which McLuan saw.
The digital revolution is
open to fraud. Tricks can be played by
distorting images and vulnerable people will believe what they have seen. Once that phrase “seeing is believing” was
correct. Today it is not. Today we see what others want us to see and
it may be all an illusion...
The two images on the left show the
beautification .of the woman, and on the right the “transgenderisation” of
Rowan Atkinson, both using “photoshop”,
“Reality can no longer be
precisely determined. Place, time, and
matter have been liberated to an extent that could not have been predicted a
short time ago.”
Paul Valery, (1871 – 1945)
Reflections on the World Today.
The majority of the
population will accept and use the new technology accessing all they can. Few will see the dangers of a wholly
un-policed global means of communication.
The digital revolution has opened a Pandora’s Box.
“The fundamental cause of
trouble in the world is that the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are
full of doubt”
Bertrand Russell (1872 –
1970)
“A lie gets half way
around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.”
Sir Winston Churchill
(1874 – 1965)
Conclusion
It is obvious that the digital
revolution has aided and extended creativity to a massive extent. One day soon we will not just gaze at Van
Gough’s Sunflowers, we will be able to step into the field, feel the sun on our
skins, and smell the flowers. Virtual
reality already lets this occur in a few galleries, soon it will be in our own
living rooms.
Children in schools won’t
look at a picture of a snake in a book they will enter virtual worlds where
they believe they can hear, touch and smell the creature and virtually, safely
handle it.
“I began working with
computers as compositional and performance tools in the late 1980’s and have
been immersed in the digital arts ever since.
In addition to the excitement of working in such a rapidly evolving
form, digital art is making an important aesthetic contribution through its
breakdown of many impenetrable barriers between genres, disciplines, etc. The evolution of new interactive digital
video technologies has made it possible for my idea of integrating sound and
vision to be realised on a much more advanced level.”
Ben Neill (1957 - )Writing
in the section on Performance Music and Sound Art from The Art of the Digital
Age by Bruce Wands (1945 - ) artist writer curator and teacher.
We are now at a position
where the extensive use of the digital techniques allows the concept of dynamic
creativity, exampled in modern advertising, where the effects are stunning, yet
we have become inured to their excitement as we always know and recognise that
behind their technical wizardry lies sophisticated software. This is true creativity using the digital
media.
2013 Anti-smoking advertisement: -The lesion on the cigarette growing
representing the cancer growth, using digital media.
We cannot go back, only
forward. The dangers are there, but the
benefits are legion.
“We keep moving forward,
opening new doors, and doing new things, because we’re curious and curiosity keeps
leading us down new paths.” and “It’s kind of fun to do the impossible.”
Walt Disney (1901 – 1966)
Great words from a great
man, but let us not forget the dangers.
“I think of the presence
and the habits of mortals in this so fluid stream, and reflect that I was among
them, striving to see all things, just as I see them at this very moment. I
then placed Wisdom in the eternal station which now is ours. But from here all
is unrecognizable. The truth is before us, and we no longer understand anything
at all.”
Paul Valery (1871 – 1945)
Reflections on the World Today.
“The world is a dangerous
place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and
do nothing.”
Albert Einstein (1879 –
1955)
In history art has run
parallel to science. These two have now
merged and become the infrastructure on which the computer revolution is
founded.
In 1834 Charles Babbage
invented the first calculator, later came the telegraph, Morse, and the Binary
code. The typewriter arrived with its first keyboard followed closely by the telephone
in 1876. By 1888 George Eastman had produced the Kodak camera and film. The first
computer arrived in the 1940s. Experimentation was at first within universities
and research centres but by the 1960s artists were showing interest. By 1968 Douglas Englebart produced the Mouse
enabling everyday use of the new machines. Interaction occurred between artists and
engineers such as Andy Warhol, Robert Whitman and John Cage to name but a few. In 1977 Apple gave artists their first machine
with colour graphic capabilities. After
that there was an explosion of personal computers and specialist programs such
as Paintbrush which allowed new creative frontiers. By 1980 computer animation
was born.
It has all happened very
quickly. No-one has stopped to take an over-view. The Web has taken off and the
Global village is a reality. Sadly human nature still has its two sides, one
good one bad. Will the vastly aided positive creativity be tarnished by
criminal creativity? Talking via the
internet is exciting and good as long as we know to whom we are talking.
There could be many
disasters waiting to happen.
“Whoever genuinely
believes he knows how to save humanity from catastrophe has a job before him
which is certainly not a part time one.”
Robert Motherwell (1915 –
1991) and Harold Rosenburg (1906 – 1978) The Question of what will Emerge is
Left Open.
If we acknowledge the
dangers but are as interactive as our new media to control it we are indeed on
the brink of Utopia. However we have to
recognise that this is now a global issue not a local one.
Bibliography
Alexenberg, M. (2006). The
Future of Art. 1st ed. Bristol: Intellect Books.
Austin,T, & Doust,R.
(2007). New Media Design. 1st
ed. London: Lawrence King Publishing.
Harrison, C. & Wood,P.
(2003). Art in Theory 1900-2000. New
ed. Oxford: Blackwell.
de Meredieu,F. (2005). Digital & Video Art. English ed.
Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap
Wands,B. (2006). Art of the Digital Age. 1st
ed. London: Thames & Hudson
