What do you imagine the future of art and culture to be?
How can art and culture participation sustain society in this future?
How might transmedia experience/materials figure into this future?
So goes the fourth, and final, set of module questions for this term. Append your thoughts and responses here as comments on this post by Sunday evening. Feel free to include examples that you find on your own, as well as references to items on the Diigo group.
When I think of the future, I honestly think of the film Back to the Future Part II. Hoverboards. Gregarious clothing. 3D Jaws (which scared me as a kid). Cars that can fly and be fueled by garbage. Re-hydrating pizzas. Telecommuting. And most importantly, virtual reality. Just within the last few months progress has been made in re-creating these iconic items for the 21st Century. Nike plans to have the self Velcro-ing shoes (http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2014/02/17/power-laces-back-to-future/5549043/) and there is a hoverboard that Tony Hawk just tried out (http://www.tmz.com/2014/11/13/tony-hawk-real-hoverboard-ride-video/). Could Hollywood, or the creative minds behind the film, ever image these things coming to fruition? Is this the influence of something so fantastical that is has to now be real? I will not be totally sold until Mr. Fusion is made and I can fly above the landscape. Sure there will be regulations on where to fly (so as not to collide with a plane) but to be able to see the beauty of the Oregon landscape from a mile up,that is what I really want.
As a side note, I had to use the Google function to pull the websites I indicated above, so to discuss how the internet has changed how I think is not really how but why. Why do I need Google or the postings from online entities to back up my story. Because some things are no longer easy to find in a library. News articles get to me faster via Facebook and Twitter depending on who I am following. Why do I follow certain pages? They are related to areas of interest, predominately they are related to science, science fiction, or the arts, but I see them weaving in and out of each other. The hoverboard or the self Velcro-ing shoes need science to support their existence because a popular film like Back to the Future Part II only made if fantasy and special filming tricks made the items work. The creators of the items we are seeing now, did they use the internet for research? Possibly. Forums, posted screenshots, emailing the filmmakers, contacting suppliers, and marketing to consumers may have all happened online for efficiency and effectiveness. Type in “hoverboard science” into a Google search bar and see the suggestions it gives. I chose “hoverboard science project” and this is the list of online offerings I got, https://www.google.com/search?q=hoverboard+science+project&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&channel=sb
The internet allows people to “nerd out” in a controlled environment and indulge in their favorite pop culture film. Would the internet have been used as much or to it’s extent if it existed 100yrs ago? Can there be a difference in the tech savvy and the culture savvy? I feel there is no cultural divide like Ivey and Tepper discuss, but there is a blending of arts and culture. The need for having internet is prevalent and for either author to say people without it will only have limited portals to receive culture, I think they need to look at families who pass down artistic or cultural skills like music, painting, or dance. Plus, inventors, like Elon Musk, wants to make broadband internet more affordable, http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/elon-musk-building-fleet-satellites-bring-broadband-masses/. Will this further the divide or close it up? I foresee an opportunity of people to be able to experience many forms of arts and cultures, should the economy change in such a way that the average consumer can have more expendable income to invest.
A simple way I see people staying staying active in arts and culture is by way of Pinterest, Instagram, and YouTube. Ivey and Tepper speak of the “Pro-Am Revolution” and I strongly agree with them as we can go to YouTube and find someones DIY or singing channel. You can find guys doing video game walk-thrus (subscribe to Angry Centaur Games and see what my ex-boyfriend and his bestie do with their free time) or make-up tutorials. There are YouTube stars and is this because of reality tv? Computers come with built-in webcams and tablets have a rear and front facing camera. The accessibility to post yourself on an online platform is too easy. Instagram now allows you to make videos in the same fashion as Vine. Pinterest is a dump site for images that link to websites and blogs. You can find anything and everything you want, from clothes, puppies, and clothing from the Metropolitan Opera to things related to BDSM, gardening, and travel. A cautionary tale with Pinterest is there may be viruses or broken links to the source so be cautious and know when to cut yourself off. It’s addicting. I would know.
Go to my Pinterest page, https://www.pinterest.com/starrieidgirl/
You will see how highly organized by boards are, I am seriously addicted to this site and I both love and hate it. It’s a time waster but it also gives me some really great ideas that I would not have come up with without someone else putting it out there. As an example, I took the idea of a cord keeper pattern and lengthened it to accommodate larger cords, like for an iron or hair dryer. This quick exchange of ideas by a visual representation speaks to me in words I cannot express but only to say, go look at my board Cute Itty Bitty Things if you are having a bad day. You will feel better.
Pinterest is moving transmedia quickly as it can also share videos and connect to the source content, they are also allowing the originator of the pin to have their official recipe attached. This gives more fire power to the Pro-Am because a really attractive image or caption can get the pin more re-pins or likes, which could be a model for how we interact. Just recently, Pinterest added a “Message” section, similar to Facebook messaging, you can message a pin to someone and they can comment back to you within the site/application.
This may be a lot of rambling but I ultimately feel the internet has become another resource for study like a library or newspaper. It may be the only channel someone chooses to put their information out through but we cannot solely rely on the internet to know everything. Talking to another person or reading a journal article will help keep us grounded and motivated to learn. Plus, going up the stairs to a library will keep us healthy, right? One of my favorite responses from the “Edge” article came from Esther Dyson and her calling her response “Digital sugar.” She speaks volumes to me by saying “the Internet is empty calories. It’s sugar – short videos, pokes from friends, blog posts, Twitter posts, pop-ups and visualizations” and “Will we become allergic to it even as we crave it? And what will serve as information insulin?” What counteracts the internet and our “need” for it? is there too much internet to really take in and we need to break from it?
Ultimately, we cannot rely on the internet to be the only avenue of arts and culture, we have to go out and experience it. Perhaps the internet will be the most effective way to generate interest and conversation for an event or show, but it will never replace the euphoric feelings I get after seeing a play or a Cirque du Soleil performance. It does, however, definitely allows for me to “nerd out” over the possibility of a hoverboard!
What do you imagine the future of art and culture to be?
Imagination can run wild with this question, the future of art and culture will be dictated by an individuals willingness to look at themselves as art. We can all take form as art or artists, regardless if we choose to have strong attachments to these identities. Life is an art form, the mere fact that we exists as a species that can function with the aptitude of creativity capacity is startling. The future of art and culture in my eyes may be esoteric and optimistic, but I hope that we can form art and culture from the places we least expect. Not in high art functions or galas, but in alley ways and intermingles of dark corners. Art as underground collaborating with art as foreground.
It is important however to be careful in stating that. All needs have to be taken and accounted for when discussing art and culture. As a culture here in the United States, we have a tendency to claim that everyone needs and is wanting what we offer, which is sadly not the case. What I can say with hope and determination is that the future of arts should be accessible, participatory, and inclusive.
The way to find this balance is to offer artistic opportunities at all levels of interaction-education, entertainment, employment. Finding ways for people to engage in participating in art for arts sake and the rise and importance of “informal arts” taking amateur artists and non-traditional forms of economy into play. The positive aspects of community building in the informal arts world creates opportunities we never thought possible. The future of arts and culture is how we choose to build and put community first. By putting community first, we begin to see the holistic picture and framework of arts and culture building more abundance in creativity and eventually economy.
I think they put it best in the “Creative Economy” article. If we create more inclusivity and participation in arts and culture, we then build a more creative economical workforce. We notice this is built through our social organization and inclusion, showing opportunities that are not just spent through the gentrification of art renewal spaces but wealth creation and vitality across the spread and not just focusing at the top.
How can art and culture participation sustain society in this future?
Sustainability is such a buzzword and often relates to environmentalism. How can we keep art and culture participation sustaining in society is rooted how we choose to interact with it. There is a fine line of making this part of the “normative” culture. We often isolate arts as an aesthetic understanding, a term we have been unpacking throughout the time in this class. Who places the value on arts in society? How does that value affect the rest of those who don’t weight in on that conversation?
Art and culture can’t just sustain our current society, it needs to transform. From the way we currently offer art and culture, and expanding throughout our daily lives. In the spirit of Favianna Rodriguez this rings true. Art participation is being used to transform the society we live in by creating conversations that are often muffled by the mainstream media. Revolutionary art comes through at the time we need it most. We are repressive by nature as a culture, and through arts and culture we are finally beginning to untangle this repression and fully step into the freedom and empowerment that comes through radical self expression and participation.
How might transmedia experience/materials figure into this future?
The question I find myself asking back, is how could the transmedia experience, not figure into the future? With remix culture alive and well, we have come to embrace that content is king, and every story can be told through multiple platforms and come out a completely different one. This has been shown in the Walking on Eggshells documentary, a great viewing choice for a Friday night if you ask me.
The world of mashups in music has allowed for music that you would never find in certain places (remember how I mentioned finding art in places you would least expect) and placing it there, creating new depth and meaning to the music. Here mashup artists like DJ Earworm are taking pop music selections and creating his own context around rising gas prices. These artists has no intention of talking about the rising gas prices when they were driving gas guzzling SUV’s but putting a new story spin on the whole piece puts a different perspective and then, a different voice is born.
The Two English mashup DJs featured in the short film bring up a very good point, that we experience the world through references. Everything is a referenced to something that we have already seen, felt or sensed before.
The transmedia experience has allowed for the evolution of storytelling to take place and allow those hearing the story to take the reigns and create their own. By giving voice to the audience, we then extend again the participation boundaries, create new ones and add some more flair to the ever changing understanding of how we perceive our said experiences.
With the rise of fan art, these experiences shape our future in how mainstream stories told through major mediums of TV and Movies, We see that the fan has just as much say in the future success of the movie and tv then the actors to portraying the characters of the story. As much as content is king so is the audience. With so many choices today, the story told has to excite and keep the audience interested, or there will be no more story.
What do you imagine the future of art and culture to be?
How can art and culture participation sustain society in this future?
How might transmedia experience/materials figure into this future?
The future of art and culture will be complicated. So many aspects of art are changing, both for good and for bad. New types of art are being created and become appreciated by wider audiences on a daily basis. This means that more people can be involved in the creation of art, and previously disregarded genres of art are being revisited. But, at the same time, more traditional types of art and the institutions that support and show them are struggling. Though participation is growing in certain areas (online viewing of art and public art), museums, ballets, operas, and other “traditional” institutions are having trouble getting people through their doors. They need to find new ways to connect with these new and younger audiences that may see them as staid.
To sustain participation artists, and art institutions need both be open to new genres of art and to find new ways to reach their audiences. The development of various types of transmedia would help this process immensely. If a museum can advertise their space and art on many different types of technologies, more people would see and possibly be interested. The various platforms of social media have helped with this. LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art) has recently set up a Snap Chat account. They send out very witty and hilarious snaps (pictures with captions) almost daily. This is reaching a younger and more tech savvy audience. I have even added LACMA to my account and plan on visiting the museum next time I am in LA. This particular example reaches even more levels of transmedia as stories about the LACMA Snap Chat account have been featured on Buzzfeed and other news sites.
Art institutions, aestheticians, and those in the more “traditional” and “high art” sectors also need to be open to new types of art. Aesthetics (as discussed much in class previously) can be quite restrictive, and the older ways of looking at and judging art are changing or being outmoded. People can choose for themselves what art is, and what art can be considered “good.” Things are changing in the world of aesthetics with more people having access to all types of art via the internet.
I think that transmedia, and more use of technology in general, will be the way that art and culture will find a way to stay relevant and to keep participation numbers up, and sustain themselves into the future.
The future of art and culture will depend primarily on how much change will occur in the present. What can we do to make sure arts and culture programs are being seen and how will we sustain these programs for future generations? Art and culture programs should be reproduced and remixed overtime, however, with the expanse of technology and social media art and culture programs could potentially turn into online and internet based. This does not necessarily mean that culture and art programs will discontinue, but it will mean that the programs and events will be changed into something different.
I found the article “Cultural Renaissance or Cultural Divide” written by Bill Ivey and Steven Tepper interesting because of the description of changing cultural societies. This article looks at the changes in art events and programming and it explains how people would interpret certain arts programming. I found this fascinating because of the idea that society is always changing and developing. It is constantly creating new and innovative ways in which to produce certain things. The first sentence of this article says it all: “America is on the threshold of a significant transformation in cultural life” (Ivey and Tepper, 2006). The authors are correct in their statement; the American society is changing and transforming into something different. What this society will be like is difficult to determine.
In the article “From Creative Economy to Creative Society”, I found the paragraph about different cultural backgrounds in a single neighborhood allows for more arts participation to be interesting. The authors state that a household that is configured of diverse people will participate in more cultural programming than households that have less diversity (Stern and Seifert, 2008). Looking at this statistic the ways in which we participate in the future could be dependent on the cultural backgrounds of our households.
Whether or not it is our cultural backgrounds or our technological advancements, arts and culture programs will be different in the future based on the changes being made within American society today. The ways in which we participate in arts and culture programs may change, but the creation of such programs will still be produced in the future. Remixes and new creations are constantly being made and the future of arts and culture creations will be because of remixing.
A century ago, the prospect of the future of art and culture was so drastically different than what has become. The same can be equally said for the question posed. We can speculate, gesture at potential answers and cross our fingers that things only get more rich and abundant with time. But, what will be written of art and culture in 100 years time? That’s for us to bring to life and take under our wings to help write the future and aid in sustaining a productive environment for society to flourish.
Any great artistic movement takes time, energy, creativity, sacrifice and a community of like-minded individuals driven to make a difference and form a new way of looking at the world. The same can be said for a participatory art focused society and as members of said group, we must embrace the challenge of remaining close to the fundamentals set out to better our communities, and in a larger part, the citizens of that community. It may be only one man who tops Everest, but it was the whole team behind him that brought him to where we is able to tackle such a feat. In that same vein, we must all work together to create a better vision and brighter version of our society and the way in which we all participate in the arts and culture on a day to day basis.
Transmedia will continue to astound us and relate us to the stories and adventures we live by and strive to understand better. With the rush of technology and the, somewhat, never ending parade of new and better devices, applications and programs, there is no doubt the admirable work of Transmediation will only increase in necessity and popularity. In a way, we are growing along with Transmedia and it is due to our desires and need for “more more more” that we are, in fact, the driving force behind the movement. We will continue to steer the wheels of art within society as players in the game and as time passes discoveries will be grander, inventions will be bigger and our need for creativity will remain as desperately necessary as ever before.
There is so much here my brain is full to over-flow. Reading these articles on the creative class, the importance of inclusive thinking and the future of the arts dovetails into so many different threads and conversations in my life right now. In truth I have no idea how to fit all the pieces together yet, and I have no idea what the future will look like, but I believe if we remain on this current path we will be further into a world were audiences will become more like partners in the making of works, either as investors, creators disseminators, or critical consumers. I also know that art professionals and the creative class are already an exclusive club. As was explored in the Stern and Seifert article this creative economy and class can go one of two ways, it can be a rising tide of a flood that drowns those in the low lands. as was discussed recently in a Washington Post article, if you are lucky enough to be making a living from art you are probably white (http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/10/21/if-youre-lucky-enough-to-earn-a-living-from-your-art-youre-probably-white/). The reality is the inequity the Stern and Seifert are warning about already exists, and is perpetuated by too many things to discuss in one post, however there are arts groups who are successfully counter the tendency by municipalities to “see the creative sector only as a market,” thus increasing “inequality and exclusion (Stern-Seifert, p. 13).”
At the National Arts Marketing Project Conference this year Linda Steele of Arts Memphis presented about increasing diversity and building community through art. (http://artsmarketing.org/conference/session/2014/pathways-engagement-model-meaningful-relationships-underserved-communities
She spoke about how Arts Memphis began implementing the Artist Development Iniative (http://www.artsmemphis.org/grants-services/audience-development-initiative/) in 2006. It has been working with the Orange Mound and Hickory Hill Neighborhoods. Two high poverty, high crime area that also has a large elderly population. Orange Mound in particular has a deep history as one of the first communities founded by free blacks. The senior population in the community who grew up there remember with great pride how the community was once home to some of the first black professionals. However, the youth for the most part don’t know this history and the seniors and youth feel a deep disconnect from each other. In 2010, Linda Steele was hired to improve the effectiveness of outreach efforts in target communities. In a nut shell what she found was outreach efforts by grantees were falling short mainly because the organizations were approaching outreach as a tag-on after thought, and were operating from a strictly organization centric way of thinking instead of a community centric way of thinking. They were well meaning, but were missing some keys barriers and needs within the community that were keeping citizens from engaging. Steele started holding training sessions for grantees that were informed by numerous town halls held within the Orange Mound and Hickory Hill communities. In the end it has drastically changed how groups like the Memphis Ballet, Memphis Opera, Theate Memphis, Voice of the South, and Memphis Symphony approach their outreach work. They start by looking at what needs have been identified by the residence (youth/senior connects, job skills development, child care) and how they can, through their programming and mission, address those needs. For instance, the youth music program connected with the symphony now runs a career center in Orange Mound were music students and members of the community can come len basic job search skills, and the music students are paired with professional musicians who act as mentors and resources. Voice of the South, which specializes in innovated theater and story telling to capture southern voice, has created a program that teaches youth to capture the living histories of their elderly neighbors.
Arts Memphis is successfully “moving beyond traditional nonprofit models of the arts and in focusing on a community’s assets rather than its deficits…view cultural organizations not in isolation but as “network enterprises” in which their connections to wider systems are more important than their internal organization (Stern-Seifert, p. 6).”
This type of art making fits right in with a Henry Jenkins quote in the Chronicle article where he states: “The new art and art making are participatory: Much of the art can be produced and consumed in the home; many people contribute and learn from each other (without necessarily considering themselves professional artists); and much of what is made is considered community property (Ivey and Tepper, p. 3).”
By asking the community what they need, and moving away from the “if we build it they will come” model, by being a flexible, creative, people-centric organization groups like the grantees in the Art Memphis Initative are broadening their base of support, increasing connections and participation, breaking down class and race barriers and improving the quality of life in their cities. I hope this is the future of art. I hope we create a place for all at the table. I’m not sure if I’m enough of an optimist to believe that will actually happen.
What do you imagine the future of art and culture to be?
As we’ve discussed in this class, the role of art in our society is ever changing. Today, the arts sector has to work harder than ever to prove its value and I imagine the world of art and culture to change a lot in the future. Our society is constantly changing and developing. With these new developments, access to various art worlds is becoming more prominent. Perhaps I am naive, but I believe that there is beginning to be a deep understanding of the importance of the arts across a wide range of societies. With this understand of how important arts are to our world, arts organizations are working on accessibility more than anything. Making sure that those who want art in their lives can have it easily. With engaging and socially driven activities being undertaken to help increase participation in arts, I believe arts in our society will continue to grow and flourish.
How can art and culture participation sustain society in this future?
With developments in technology there is a growing world of participation in the arts. For example, the Google Art Project allows access to various galleries all over the world. Right now, I can take a tour through galleries of the Museum of London and see works of art than might otherwise be unreachable for me. With an increased appreciation and understanding of culture and the encouragement of public awareness, participation in the arts has the ability to sustain a culture driven society for future generations.
How might transmedia experience/materials figure into this future?
As I’ve discussed before, developments in technology have and will continue to have a significant impact on participation in the arts. Transmedia experiences will certainly figure into this future, assuming traditional institutions continue to have an open mind and embrace new technologies and ways to access art. With performing arts organizations such as the Metropolitan Opera making their shows available on theatre screens and art museums embracing the idea of virtual galleries one can see a steady movement into the future of art and culture in a technology driven society.
How can art and culture participation sustain society in this future?
There is no right or wrong answer for the question. I believe there can be a few outcomes for art and culture participation to sustain in society. Like in one of the readings, there are the pessimists and the optimists for the arts. Pessimists believe that transmedia is depleting our creativity by making it more commercialized. Optimists believe it has brought more opportunity for individual artists and explore new mediums. I think it will be a combination of these two thought.
I look at the art world as more of a business approach. In my opinion, I think the sustainability of art participation will depend how we get people involved. There is going to be a new idea to grasps audiences attention to the art world that will solve the question for this module. First off, it is getting harder and harder to provide art or art services for free. The only way is to ask for money from patrons or donors. As in our cultural administration class pointed out, donors and patrons usually only support roughly 25% of revenue. With new art leaders, like ourselves, we have to point this out to artists and art agencies. I do believe this is coming more well known than in the past. The only thing that concerns me is the unknown challenges that lay before art business world.
Another way art can sustain in society is the increasing population and the higher interest we are seeing from different generations. However, I am not sure we are seeing a higher number of interest because of the increasing population. Regardless, we just need to tap into this somehow by convincing these generations that there are other resources to refine their skills. We need a place for them not to be intimidated of making this as a career choice. How we do this? I am still not sure but I would like to explore ideas.
How might transmedia experience/materials figure into this future?
The term pro am was great to learn and made me realize another way transmedia has progressed the arts. There is a possibility that museums and art may reference the renting model described in our reading. Just like a lot of newspapers are requiring a fee to subscribe on the internet. However, I think they may run into the same issue of bigger newspapers and organization with great reputations being able to have customers pay for online subscriptions but smaller less known newspapers are growing less rapidly. It’s a marginal cost issue. Transmedia has had a great impact on the progress of art already. I am not sure on the role but I would lay money on it solving the issue of participation.
Many of the items we looked at in this module examined the incorporation of art into communities, and how participation in and interaction with these arts affected the communities. Since the benefits of art and art participation are numerous and apparent, and since art capacities are being redefined and reinvisioned through evolving transmedia resources, I want to suggest that art participation will become integral to sustaining society in the future because it will be infused into every aspect of society. This will make a type of new ‘new genre public art.’
Essentially, art is what makes something more playful. But, what makes participatory art forms great is how their playfulness is matched by their function. As transmedia resources increase, so do our capacities to incorporate art into every genre of work and life. Art makes the common things people do more fun and more attractive. People have known for a long time that arts participation makes for better students, scientists, mathematicians, doctors, and citizens. With the capacity to create transmedia art forms at our fingertips, I think all fields will incorporate art into their work, thereby making all aspects of society more advanced and more artistic. For example, scientists often create items inspired by art or popular culture. This increases the technological capacities of humankind and ultimately makes for a more sustainable, progressive society.
Recently, at the American Folklore Society conference, I heard a talk on how the study of aesthetics could lead to better biological and zoological understanding of animals. In this way humans will better understand evolution. In my opinion, it is approaches such as this that will push art in society to the next level and allow for greater social innovation. I think this use of aesthetics (and incorporation of aesthetics into work) could lead to scientific innovation, engaged communities, a more vibrant economy, lower poverty rates, and individual satisfaction. The trick is figuring out how aesthetics, art, and art participation all fit into each aspect of society and the economy.
The future of art and culture will not be without struggle yet I think that our very desire for participation and creativity that will help it persevere. Perhaps there’s no true original idea, only remixes. Perhaps we’re too reliant on internet, which like everything, is best in moderation. Yet our worldviews and the ways in which we approach new things are more creative and dynamic than ever before because of the availability and accessibility that’s being created. In a time where most of our access to art, culture, and information is stretched across multiple media platforms I think there’s a high degree of sustainability that can be achieved. Some people might find the lack of control that transmediation offers to be problematic; suddenly we have all of these different ways to approach one idea colliding across multiple spaces but at the same time we’re developing a degree of accessibility that might not otherwise exist. I think we do need be careful of copyrights and ownership but at the same time, the human life-span is not so long when considering the longevity of community and heritage. The current trends in art and cultural participation is allowing for an aspect of collectivity and collaboration that wasn’t as conceptualized before and I think that as we move forward, we’re going to develop new ways of embracing this participation.
From the article “Cultural Renaissance or Cultural Divide”, it is not hard to find that one of the reasons of cultural transformation is the development of society
and technology. In my opinion, the art and cultural in the future will be less restricted and more worldwide. As an International students concentrated in art management, I am deeply feeling the culture and political difference between two kinds ideology. I think there is no accurate answer to judge who is right. I hope, especially for art, public and society could give more tolerance and understand in the future.
Just like what people imaged before the 19th century, they didn’t dare to draw a blueprint about art sustaining society. However dating back to 19th century, we could only use “local” to describe the character of the art experience. But looking to the future is much more easier to create new things. Thus, developing is not abandon and criticize but inherit and innovation. People in the 19th century, had already developed an awareness of art participation and would boarded their horizon in the 20th. With the advancements of recording skills and the flowering of the nonprofit arts at the 20th century, people were enriched by several transmedia methods, for instance, newspaper, radio, movies. National foundation is a double-edged sword for art development, for one hand it motivated the explosion of nonprofit and professional arts organizations; on the other hand art was heavily controlled by government. Technology is the core engine for cultural and arts development in the 21st century. Homemade-based art participants became increasingly popular. Micro-film and low-cost art production more and more went into public sight.
Thus, according to the previous trace, I have more freedom space to speculate what will happen about the art and culture in the future. Either public art, refined art, civic art or performing art, will finally going to a path named “creative art”. Perhaps the definition between professional artists and amateurs art lover will become blurry. What art give to public will no longer be restricted on professional aesthetic interpretation, people have more access to learn about this world, and learn from each other. Anyone who received high-level education or just have more leisure time to enjoy life will have possibility to create, curate and share his artworks. Our society will give these people more recognition and respect; even they are not the elite in a specific art but are good enough to present their work in public or online.
In words, art and culture participation will be more influenced by the quality and knowledge on creator himself. The limitation on spreading art will be released from politics. Finally, as for the transmedia, it is multi-channel that coloring general public arts world. When we “broadcasting” and “tune in” online, YouTube foe example, we are desiring for the offer and receive feedback from other participators. Maybe in the future, museum is a place that no longer is fit for some “professional connoisseur”, there is unfinished sculpture or painting waiting for “refined” by any visitors. Anyway art and culture, in the future, will be diversity and tolerance.
What do you imagine the future of art and culture to be?
How can art and culture participation sustain society in this future?
How might transmedia experience/materials figure into this future?
When I think of the future of the art and culture world, I can imagine a more well-formed version of what’s going on right now, which Bill Ivey called the “Pro-am Revolution.” Many people in my generation, like he said, have aspirations of creating though not necessarily as a primary source of income. Because of that, many talented and creative people will participate in creating and participating in art when they aren’t doing whatever it is that their career is. I imagine that these people will surround themselves with art and other artists who are in their similar situation. I think the future is going to further blur the lines of who counts themselves as an artist. Anecdotally, and based mostly on my group of friends, I think my generation is a little more experience-focused than material-focused. That is to say, with the prevalence of social media, posting pictures of your trip to Peru is more valuable than getting a new car (this is a materialistic approach to experiential living, but still). Because of this, many people in my generation are interested in learning, experiencing, and participating in “the new.” People might be accountants by trade, but get into traditional paper folding, pastry cooking, or metallurgy. Plus with what we talked about in the last module about remix, droves of people are taking to youtube and the like to create and recreate content. The artist population is going to continue to blow up, though the profile of these artists is going to be much different and hopefully more diverse than before.
With this new artist class, hopefully more diverse forms of art will proliferate and be accepted as such. If that happens, then the number of arts participants will increase and these artists can spread their work to their communities. As more and more people – bankers, teachers, lawyers, doctors – begin practicing and art form, hopefully the appreciation of art will increase and with it so too will the acknowledgement of the importance of art in society. This could help more people get involved in campaigns to bring arts back to schools in stronger ways as opposed to larger-scale community arts engagement for those who are beyond the the school years. With something like this happening across all levels – racial, socio-economic, gender, education level – art participation could certainly sustain society because everyone would be more invested in their communities and the work that their communities create.
Like we talked about in the remix module, transmedia is blowing up old definitions of art and artist and clearing the way for many more participants. Bill Ivey noted that many artists these days are getting start from creating their art on some form of transmedia and then getting discovered from it: amateur musician youtube channels, writers’ blog entries, photographer portfolios and the like can all appear online. People can create art more quickly and spread it farther than they use to be able to. Plus not only do these new transmedia contexts give rise to amateur artists, they also cultivate amateur art critics. People are learning how to identify their tastes, what they like and why, and are becoming able to express that. There is still very much in many art institutions the need for an “invite” to really appreciate the art, but transmedia is making it so more people are inviting themselves in and learning from the inside out. As we always say, though, transmedia still doesn’t give access to everyone so to really use changing models in art and culture participation to better society, we have to always focus on increasing access.
Throughout the readings and blogs for this module I saw two very distinct themes pertaining to the future of arts and culture. Technology and communication. Technology is the most obvious answer to this question, but I think that its purpose reaches far beyond that of the vast reaches of the internet. Not only does it allow access, but it also allows for the creation of new forms of art and artistic expression. This also leads into the theme that I saw in the readings which is connections/communication. This is represented through organizations that are promoting and endorsing the arts. To me though it seems like a lot of these connections that are represented are still working at progressing. Businesses are still looking to grow, but they have become stunted. At times a future in the arts and culture seems to be at a standstill because of the continuations of talks or negotiations, regarding the lack of funds. And although there is advocacy to fix this problem, there still seems to be an imbalance.
Art and culture participation is key to sustaining the two in the future. The only way that the arts can continue is if there are people interested in it. And although there are new and innovative ways to get people to participate, inclusion in traditional types of participation should not be overlooked. Often times I feel like art and culture get lost in this mirage of trying look attractive to massive amounts of people. This is not to say that that I believe that art should revert back to being exclusive, because that is not what I believe at all. I guess what I am trying to say is that this question asks how art and culture participation can be sustained, and although a large part of that is through adaptation and willingness to change, I also believe that certain things need to be preserved and not just persistent.
As I mentioned earlier, technology is a large part of what I believe the future of art and culture will be, and is right now. So transmedia experience and/or materials fits right in with that. It allows more varied expressions of art, and it also allows for a greater amount of people to partake and been seen and heard. I suppose what bothers me about this though is the unanswered question of what happens when society starts to rely too heavily on technology and transmedia experiences and materials.
As to the future of art and culture, I tend to think about the internet and the future and current rapid dissemination of art and culture. Through the internet, I believe that the lines between cultures are beginning to blur. While the internet creates space for more individuals to participate in the arts and in culture, it is, at the same moment, breaking down the distinguishing factors which have composed the diversity we have seen between cultures. On the blog, “Edge: Is the Internet Changing the Way we Think?”, individuals debate the impact of the internet on the mind. Some argue that the internet is making us lazier, less creative, while others believe the exact opposite or something in between. To me, the internet has encouraged more individuals to participate in arts and culture, and in that way it is benefiting the continuation of the arts.
Arts and culture have and will continue to sustain society, though I believe the real question is how society will continue to sustain the arts. In the article “Cultural Renaissance or Cultural Divide?”, the authors outline some of the ways in which the arts and participation in the arts has increased in recent years. There has been an increase in non-profit arts and heritage organizations, and through these arts and heritage preservation programs culture is protected, continued, and evolved. Programs like the Northwest Heritage Resources organization work with folklorists to record culture, and the increased interest of communities in culture has been the only way that these types of organizations have been sustained. The same article also noted the increasing number of amateur artists, and through direct involvement in the arts, individuals are more likely to perpetuate it.
Arts and culture have to evolve along with technology, as they have and will continue to do. In the past, the invention of the radio allowed fishers to pass poetry, prose, songs, and stories into the vast expanse of the ocean, sharing with as many individuals as the radio waves would allow. Today, the internet is an even more accessible platform for individuals to participate and share culture and art. Due to the high use rate of the internet, arts programs have to adjust their marketing strategies. Marketing via social media has been one of the adaptations that heritage and arts organizations have been able to sustain their organizations. The better marketed an event is online, the better the change that the event will attended and the program will continue to be sustained.
About future, I think no one can predict accurately, even with the rapid technology development nowadays. About art future, I also don’t know what art genres are in fashion, which level of art development. But there is one thing I can ensure that is art and culture will be more accepted and appreciated by more and more people. Art will not be in part of life of small group people who understand it, art will enter everyone’s normal life because of global media. Like the reading material of Cultural renaissance or culture divide say “Today’s cosmopolitan consumer culture is not bound by old hierarchies.” I think what future art would development mainly depends on the development of economy and technology. Of course, art also promote economy development. According to Maslow’s hierarchy of need, when people are satisfied with physiological needs they begin to seed further level needs. In the past, arts belong to nobilities’ life. They go to theater, learn piano, take money for the painter to paint their portraits, etc…. While to most ordinary people in the past, art is far away with their life and they don’t have idea to touch art at all, the most things they concerned is how to live. Even in 20th century’s artistic production, which today we view as normal, represent a strange chapter in the history of creativity. With the development of economy and hierarchy mode, people need something more to enrich spiritual realm. Arts become more and more universal, which people in the past may not have thought about. On the contrary, arts promote state’s development. National advisor for ADI Wayne Winborne suggests that art is a catalyst for the political issues of the day: “Art allows us to get at things that people can’t get at on their own.” (from Lacy, S. (2008). Time in Place)
We couldn’t predict what the art will be in the future, we can know the general trend of the development of the arts. Arts are created by human, the development of arts also follow the laws of social development. No matter what art trend be in fashion in the future, they will first appear in major cities and later in smaller ones. After reading material of Cultural renaissance or cultural divide, I learn elements to drive culture transformation. Some people who are not professional are good enough to make artistic crafts. Technology reduces the high coat of art and makes produce and distribute easily. Everyone can produce video or film by using cameras and then through free editing software they can add many effects to make video more professional. Finally, put them on line. All of the processes are free. The cost of making art is becoming more and more cheap, amateurs also can become “professional” art makers if they want. I believe in the future, art and culture will continue development in the global media environment and there will be more different types of art forms.
The coming, or to say, existing Internet world has definitely make the world much more smaller, while by the same time make thoughts and ideas expanding in high speed. Art pieces will get exploding not only in a numerous number, but also turns out being extending express forms. By easy way accessing on the internet, it is the easiest period generation than ever period for ordinary people to create art pieces.
While thoughts and theories need to be discussed on newspapers with inches of column in past decades, social network make communications easier and faster, newspapers and other press subject need times to get pressed, while news and ideas can be upload any minute to go on air, this may include subjects in art world as well.
Arts and culture will, as always play essentially in the future society, art is a creation under certain social shape and can also effect on people’ thought as a feedback to this a certain historic or social form. Culture was once considered local or in a certain graphic, while with the internet and technology participate in nowadays society, culture has tending to be more worldwide, art can be also effected while culture differ from the past. “local traditions” is declining while gaps collaborating.
Transmedia can lead culture and art into different ways of expressing, a book from another country need to be translated by years while via google chrome it can be translated by a click, despite how accurate it can be expressed, this can indeed be a way to “transport” culture.
What do you imagine the future of art and culture to be?
It is hard to give an exactly answer of this question since the aspect of arts are changing. The future of art and culture will be complex to imagine. The art and culture will change with the development of technology. People changes the technology, technology changes people as well which caused the art and culture changed. For example, the art and culture of nowadays has a significant changed than what we predict in fifty years ago. Also the way of viewing the art and culture will be changed because the “traditional” institutions are hard to bring people in, people could view the art and culture by using technology.
How can art and culture participation sustain society in this future?
As the technology developed, everything will be different. In order to allow the art and culture participation sustain society in the future, the art and culture has to make change. The “traditional” art institutions need drew more attention to people which requires the transmedia. Also we could let the art and culture get involved into technology not only letting the technology changes art and culture but also letting the art and culture changes technology. All in all, if we want art and culture sustain in our society we need increase the resources of transmedia.
How might transmedia experience/materials figure into this future?
In the past, the art and culture more rely on the human to the creation and dissemination. However，these create also has some limitations, for example, in technical operations and application. But now, technology Since the development of technology has impact on the art and culture, the art and culture has to develop a new media to fit into the future. In the future, we need transmedia to let this happen.
What do you imagine the future of art and culture to be?
I feel like the future of art and culture is constantly at the mercy of emerging technologies as a means of production yet also exists in stark opposition to technologies through the need for people to create works by means of hands-on production. So on the one hand, art and culture have adapted and will continue to adapt to a society that exists in the digital space by giving us modes of expression like vector imaging, memes, video production and so on. On the other hand, wherever there is a technological breakthrough, there are those who continue to practice simplistic methods of creation, such as sculpting pottery or painting, which date back thousands of years and continue to be a way for people to convey meaning and symbol through imagery. The future may bring methods that heavily incorporate digital spaces, but I think that there will always be a push back to basic hands-on creation.
How can art and culture participation sustain society in this future?
Participation in the future will be something that is easier to access given the quality of tools available for individual use and also something that will suffer the affliction of too many other sources of stimulation, always struggling against the dominance of mass media. I think that the future may also eventually bring a society in which the controllers of art are the people instead of elite institutions. it is already happening in film, in which case content is being can be produced and distributed to the masses, via Youtube or Netflix, allowing for artists to get their work out without having the backing of major production companies. This is really the first time in history where there is an open dialogue between artist and audience that does not exist in a physical space and can be exponentially beneficial to both parties by offering heightened exposure and interaction online.
How might transmedia experience/materials figure into this future?
The future will rely heavily on transmedia materials in a couple of different ways. Firstly, to engage an audience who puts top priority on their personal mobile devices and other digital tools, it is imperative for arts administrators to use the technology that’s available to get to the people where they are already looking. It makes sense to develop mobile apps and other online interaction because people are already spending so much time on their devices. That being said, it is also imperative to provide physical space for an organization because the content itself needs one on one, face to face interactions to be interesting. While I do believe that a digital art exhibit or cultural experience can be extremely rewarding, I also think that people engage well with tangible or interactive materials, bringing the digital in front of them. Arts organizations who can tread the fine line of digital and physical media will be the most successful.
The Sterns and Seifert article, “From Creative Economy to Creative Society”, brought up a lot of interesting points. How do we invigorate a creative economy without simultaneously promoting inequality? How do you revitalize without negative gentrification? This article reminded me to two things.
First, a corresponding question in the “field” of ethnography, and one prompted by the keynote speaker, Favianna, during the AAD 20th Anniversary Reunion. How do you give back? Ethnographers record, engage, and observe people, cultures, movements, things, etc. Often, the ethnographer leaves the culture or community they have been conducting research in and takes with them the cultural capital that, in turn, provides them with academic status. How do you make sure that, as an ethnographer, you are contributing or giving back when you swoop in and leave with cultural capital? This article reminded me of that question because it made me consider this same quandary on the creative economy level. How do you build the creative economy without pushing the people responsible for its roots out? It is important, I think, to preserve the community one is trying to revitalize. Inequality has several manifestations, but one of them is definitely the financial ability to remain in a community once it goes through a gentrification process.
This quandary also makes me think of my own home-city, San Diego. San Diego is huge. The city alone has over 1 million people, and the county contains over 3 million. It is sectioned off via rather distinctive neighborhoods, each with their own microculture. I am from mid-town San Diego, in a neighborhood called Kensington. My family is middle class (for the purpose of this comment, when I say “class” I am referring to economic and socioeconomic class, based primarily on financial malleability), but most of Kensington contains families of an upper-middle class or upper class socio-economic status. There are more houses than apartments. The neighborhood is small but has about three blocks thick with excellent dining, boutiques, and a historic one-screen theatre. A recent developer built a rather large complex over what used to be a decrepit gas station and some chaparral and wanted to building to contain apartments and store fronts. The community was very against store fronts because they were worried that their small neighborhood economy would get bigger and interrupt their residential primacy. In the end, their voices won out and the building became purely residential.
Other neighborhoods in San Diego represent this idea of neighborhood-based creative societies in Sterns and Seifer’s article. Ocean Beach is known for its dog beach, Wednesday Evening Craft Market, antique shops, and various landmarks harkening back to beach hippie culture in the 1960s and 70s. Pacific Beach has bars and boutiques catering to the college-age and young partyer crowd, making it a popular neighborhood to visit when looking for a particular experience. Hillcrest is San Diego’s pride neighborhood, where a large part of the county’s LGBTQ population lives, shops, and owns businesses. Part of the city’s Uptown, Hillcrest boasts amazing shopping, a Sunday Farmer’s Market, excellent dining, and yearly Pride Parade and celebration. City Heights, by contrast, is a lower-middle class and lower-class neighborhood with a huge population of refugees and recent immigrants. It can be a dangerous neighborhood, certainly, but has asserted itself in recent years as a “cultural hub.” Refugee communities have sought to carve out a place for their cultures with urban gardening initiatives in communities and public schools, cultural centers, and ethnic restaurants and grocery stores. There is a lot of possibility, I think, for neighborhoods that seek to revitalize a cultural society, as long as the decisions around cultural representation are not made without the voices of the communities in question.
Cultural participation is extremely valuable in that it teaches an understanding of people and histories that can be overlooked in normal educational institutions. Not only would cultural participation help foster a sense of belonging in a world that is transglobal, but it will also help students appreciate others who are different. In Arizona, when the ban of ethnic studies (Hispanic, Mexican, and Native American) was enacted in elementary and high schools, I believe they did a huge disservice to their students, to their residents, and to their self image. They are basically refusing students the right to their own cultural identities while teaching them to reject those identities as adults while showing the rest of the world that the Caucasian government representatives did not respect any other cultures and local demographics.
Similarly art teaches participants to find creativity that is ignored by many schools that focus on producing students who master math and sciences. Art studies can be an effective medium for expressing emotions that are taught to be repressed or ignored. The recognition and increase of depression in students and adults stem from many issues, some of which are the inability to give voice to any traumatic experiences. There are therapeutic practice that use art as a medium to express these feelings of anxiety or depression. If art practices were taught with more skill and understanding during developmental years of grade school and high school, perhaps students would be more well adjusted and able to express unhappiness in ways that are healthy.
I think that as our society becomes more disenchanted with the academy, and many are unhappy (especially when graduates cannot get jobs and have a mountain debt), people will start looking towards art and culture as ways to find success in our world. One of my favorite types of television shows, reality cooking, gives an example of this. On the show Masterchef, people who have lucrative positions often quit their jobs to pursue their dreams of cooking. Why is that? One reason, and I think it is a very good one, is cooking allows these people to be recognized for artistic expression. In cooking food, they often represent themselves culturally, as their food is influenced by their own backgrounds or experiences. At a corporate job, you must compete with people who have the same skill set and our producing much of the same material. Rarely is one recognized for their performance. Cooking is not only about personal expression and cultural identity, is also about producing something that is physical and helps provide sustenance. Think of those who create quilts. Quilts are artistic, provide shelter and warmth, and also can produce income.
Folk art right? Sustainability right?
What do you imagine the future of art and culture to be?
How can art and culture participation sustain society in this future?
How might transmedia experience/materials figure into this future?
Imagining the future of art and culture is a rather nebulous task. Predicting art worlds is not exactly like predicting the weather (and even then we get the weather reports wrong fair amount of the time). To be able to predict art and culture trends, we must also be able to predict the events of the future, as art and culture will directly reflect current events.
I do believe that art and culture will continue to exist in our societies, however, I feel as though we are on a path that negates the importance of art and culture. Public funding for arts and cultural support is dwindling every year, much to the chagrin of the general public. Although, there is an underlying rumble of dissatisfaction with these budget cuts, there is also very little that is being done about it. It seems to me that although there is still a participation in the arts, it is losing interest on the whole. Unless there is a resurgence or a renaissance, I don’t think that art will ever be an integral part of societies in the future. It will merely become a supplementary addition to life, rarely noticed if it is there, or not.
With the wealth of technology and accessibility to information, it is nearly impossible to dispute that transmedia is responsible for this. But has transmedia caused some of this dwindling interest? Or has it created more avenues of participation? Maybe it’s both.
We can sit on our computers, and with a simple websearch, we can find out about nearly anything in the world that we wish to learn more about. But with this ease of information sharing, maybe it has also created a lack of motivation to go out in the world and physically participate in the arts and culture. Why should I make the long and expensive voyage to New York City to see the Opera live at the Met, when I can drive to Springfield and sit in a theater, or better yet, stream it online in the comfort of my own home?
I think that the ideas and motivations behind art and culture as we know it will still exist, but its face will dramatically change. Modes of participation are changing, as are the world events that drive the artistic and cultural output. We won’t be able to predict what the future of art and culture has in store, but I’m sure we can all agree that the next 20, 30, 100 years will be an interesting ride.
We are Borg.
Walk with me on this one: in my mind there is one most-likely outcome for the future of humankind when it comes to how we live with technology (and no, it is not that the machines take over (though really, seeing as how dependent upon technology we are, one could argue they already have)). Sometime soon we’re going to start seeing cyber-integration into the human body. It will most likely start with medical (even more so than remote-access pacemakers). Cybernetic limb replacements, organ replacements, full-body prosthesis, androids essentially. We will become indistinguishable from our technology and that will be humankind’s next evolutionary leap. We’ll go the ways of Blade Runner, Summer Wars, Ghost in the Shell, and eventually we’ll turn Earth into a ship and sail through the universe like the Borg do.
This is the stuff of science fiction perhaps, but it’s not beyond the realm of possibility.
So what does this mean for culture? In a world (and you have to read this sentence in that trope, over-the-top movie trailer voice) where communication across the globe is instant, where ideas can be formed, shared, discussed, and resolved in a matter of seconds, art and culture as we know it now will cease to be. This isn’t to say that it will disappear, it simply cannot, but like us, it will evolve. I would think that physical work will vanish entirely, a mass exodus to the net. We’ll hold meetings ‘in person’ online in virtual spaces with virtual bodies. This is also how we’ll experience culture. Virtual cinemas, virtual theatres, virtual museums and galleries. In a way, platforms like Second Life and PlayStation Home are steps in this direction.
Will this all happen instantly? Not at all. There will be a time of change, and overlap, but consider this argument. When the motion picture was first created it was considered a great spectacle. Cinemas still exist today, but you’ll be hard-pressed to find them using film projectors. Some still do, so we’re in that period of overlap. It won’t be much longer before it’s entirely digital.
I believe that the future of art and culture will continue to expand online. Museums are already struggling to compete for the attention of those that choose to view and learn about local art and culture from home on their computers and televisions. And, unfortunately, I do not see this changing in the immediate future. In the Ivey and Tepper article, it is established that art and culture can now be readily produced and consumed within the home through several outlets. Because this reduces the high cost of producing and participating with art and culture, it would seem that many would not be willing to return to the era of paying higher prices, especially to view what now many consider amateur art.
Transmedia experiences and materials are helping to create this new generation of what is called “amateur art.” These materials allow for more people to participate in the arts and culture sector that do not have any formal training but may practice a myriad of hobbies related to art production and technology. As people begin to create more forms of art and expressions of culture online—including graphic design, photography, short films, blogs, poetry, fan art, etc.—more will attempt recreations and remixes, all circulating within this digital space that is hard to capture outside of this realm. I believe that participation in any realm of art and culture can further sustain society through global connections that are created online or in person. I just hope that this digital age does not make physical productions of art and culture obsolete. We need to remember and preserve our past traditions, for they inform our future.
What do you imagine the future of art and culture to be?
We seem to be in the midst of a reversal away from capitalist culture, institutions, super-sized art and media producers, and this departure is likely to continue as we face pressing environmental and social issues and continued technological advancements that put the tools for creativity in the hands of the masses. With continued advancements in technology and accessibility, the new creative class will be devised of many more amateur artists than few professional artists whom society has designated as quality enough to be distributed. More people will become creators, wanting to actually take part in art and culture and maybe even use their own creativity for social or environmental good. New generations seem to be moving away from the potentially conformist and institutional society that began developing in the 20th century towards a new society where the consumer becomes creator. People seem to be disengaging with media (as well as social media) and even with the political system, fed up with false advertising campaigns and egos. I think about food production as a great example of this. In the mid-20th century, food production and distribution was commercialized and globalized. We moved to a mass-production system of producing, distributing and consuming, that at the time, was seen as innovative and a necessary next step towards feeding the planet. Today we are experiencing a slow reversal, driven by environmental concerns and a realization that pre-packaged, microwavable processed foods, while they are cheap and convenient, are not good for us or our environment. Neither is pre-packaged culture distributed to the masses. Our society will continue to strive for diversity and vitality in culture and art that has the ability to inspire growth and change.
How can art and culture participation sustain society in this future?
I really think that the sector will need to move away from institutionalized culture to more grass-roots localized culture. As noted in Ivey and Tepper’s “Cultural Renaissance or Cultural Divide,” we now find that there are innumerable “weekend warrior” amateur creatives, but the current cultural framework does not necessarily allow those individuals to fit into the structure. They are still struggling within an arts and entertainment economy that bases its success on the establishment and support of a top distinguished few. As the digital world continues to develop there will be more avenues for amateur artists to be exposed to the rest of the world, and more avenues for consumers to follow these artists. Participation will likely become more digital and much more varied with audiences hopefully engaging with a much broader range of artists and artistic styles than they may today.
How might transmedia experience/materials figure into this future?
Technology is an obvious theme here. Our reliance on digital media will continue to be reinforced as our culture moves away from the waste of physical media. This will increase the effectiveness of the amateur artist who depends on the digital world for exposure and will decrease the effectiveness of institutions that rely on visitors and physical interaction. Accessibility will be enhanced as individuals who may not have access to urban institutions will have greater access to a broad range of artists through digital transmedia. Similar to the recent surge in blog use and popularity, there will be more people taking control of media for themselves. Everyone might be able to become an author or art critic.
What do you imagine the future of art and culture to be?
How can art and culture participation sustain society in this future?
How might transmedia experience/materials figure into this future?
The first question is a big topic, I make it smaller，talk about it in china.Cultural and artistic spirit characterize is the cultural spirit of a nation, its culture discourse destiny is tied up with the rise and fall. Chinese contemporary art is influenced by modern Western artistic and post-modern art, there have been many integrate with Western art trail. However, with the problems of post-colonialism and the awakening of contemporary Oriental open discourse, raise awareness, and cultural future of the world is not a plane of culture, not a post-colonial culture of unilateralism, it is not so-called global hegemony cultures. On the contrary, the future is a multi-cultural civilization can only interact with culture is a culture of dialogue ecological doctrine. This will enable Chinese culture and art some new space for development and future cultural transformation.
The second and third question i think technology will be the future success of the arts. From the use of charcoal on the wall began to paint, art media technology as always funsctional in the beginning. like the silver plate radiography (daguerreotype), this technique is a commissioned painting once more affordable alternative way, now become a kind of art media. As we acceptance of new technologies become more sophisticated, these technologies will transform the future for the way of self-expression. Contemporary examples include Jon Rafman creation of Google Street View Art, Dwyer Kilcollin created using a 3D printer sculpture, painting and Katsu mounting device UAV creative abstract and so on. And there are achieved through virtual reality technology artistic experience!
I am not overly optimistic for whatever lies ahead for the arts, especially after what I have seen while teaching at Utah Valley University. I’ve seen a good number of students pulling away from the arts and art related Humanities degrees out of fear of never being able to make a living. I’ve seen continual disregard for the arts at a cultivator and catalyst of abstract thought, not to mention the lack of funding for art related programs, obvious lack of respect for artists as a whole. I can only speak for what I have seen and heard while organizing art events, performing in and with them myself, and from my own students. A good number of which only take art classes out of a necessity, an “easy A,” or as filler credits. Unfortunately I see a future of disregard for the tradition artist. The painter, the sculptor, the poet will become invisible in lieu of the computer/digital arts.
The digital arts are fine, they’re grand and wonderful, but they are not the end all, be all! Tell me… how many people do you personally know, know how to wet felt a sweater or jacket by hand? How many people know how to dye wool and where/how to find natural color sources in nature that can be used to color that same sweater?
NOW
How many people are out there that can create digital clothing for an app or other like program that could perhaps eventually be worn, but not before going through an intensive artificial process that is far removed from the tradition, romance, and sustainability of the folk-tradition?
This is a problem.
There is plenty of room for modern/digital technology in art, but we shouldn’t ignore or allow the loss of tradition just because one is easier or less messy. I believe art is the catalyst of everything and the most important program that could/should be taught in school, especially at the elementary and middle school level.
What do you imagine the future of art and culture to be?
I imagine there will be more spaces like elevators, trains, buses, subways, airports and places in general will be re-appropriated to enhance our everyday experience. I imagine more creative opportunities for musicians, artists and performers to collaborate with one another to create new shows, with media and taking it to places like nursery homes, for the blind, for children in hospitals healing from long term illnesses. I think art is instrumental to our life. It has a purpose to enrich everyone young and old. The future really depends on it to give life more life. We are not here to simply exist and do the same thing over and over. We are not robots. We are all creative humans with ideas and talent. Art creates dialogue, discussion and inspiration. You never know what to expect when going into a new gallery to see new work. I imagine we will have faster ways to get information in a holographic way. Instantaneously, experiencing what is new and exciting. Art and musical entertainment must be accessible and participation is huge.
I experienced Fremont Street in Las Vegas as being very futuristic for me. I loved seeing all the hotels with bright lights, people zip lining across the blocks, hearing great bands playing at every corner, seeing people walking by and laughing. I enjoyed seeing performance artists; caricature artists drawing in the street and well dressed people everywhere. It seemed that every demographic was there. It had an amazing sparkly fun vibe, which truly inspired me. You never know what to expect. The digital screen up above your head changing videos and hearing the music blaring created so much energy. It was modern, hip and the ultimate in transmedia for me. I also enjoyed seeing the giant preying mantis from Burning Man that was there. It also played music and spewed out flames at the same time. This is located in front of the Container Park.
Fremont Experience
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNu6gIYbXEc
Container Park Praying Mantis Downtown Fremont Street, Las Vegas
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KzObHAQ0uM
In a way, really the future is here!
How can art and culture participation sustain society in this future?
It can sustain society as people recognize the impact it has on social behavior. It stimulates part of our brains and our minds in new ways and creates new connections. For those who see these kinds of connections, it widens our perspectives on other people, learn about other cultures through accessing stories, videos, art openings. It can be the glue that keeps people sane in a way. I really believe it’s an outlet to express who you are individually. It allows a unique way to be in this world. The fact we have technology at our fingertips so quickly is a blessing and we can take advantage of these opportunities in new ways now. It is huge for the younger generation and can also open up so much for older generations too.
What do you imagine the future of art and culture to be?
I imagine there will be more spaces like elevators, trains, buses, subways, airports and places in general will be re-appropriated to enhance our everyday experience. I imagine more creative opportunities for musicians, artists and performers to collaborate with one another to create new shows, with media and taking it to places like nursery homes, for the blind, for children in hospitals healing from long term illnesses. I think art is instrumental to our life. It has a purpose to enrich everyone young and old. The future really depends on it to give life more life. We are not here to simply exist and do the same thing over and over. We are not robots. We are all creative humans with ideas and talent. Art creates dialogue, discussion and inspiration. You never know what to expect when going into a new gallery to see new work. I imagine we will have faster ways to get information in a holographic way. Instantaneously, experiencing what is new and exciting. Art and musical entertainment must be accessible and participation is huge.
I experienced Fremont Street in Las Vegas as being very futuristic for me. I loved seeing all the hotels with bright lights, people zip lining across the blocks, hearing great bands playing at every corner, seeing people walking by and laughing. I enjoyed seeing performance artists; caricature artists drawing in the street and well dressed people everywhere. It seemed that every demographic was there. It had an amazing sparkly fun vibe, which truly inspired me. You never know what to expect. The digital screen up above your head changing videos and hearing the music blaring created so much energy. It was modern, hip and the ultimate in transmedia for me. I also enjoyed seeing the giant preying mantis from Burning Man that was there. It also played music and spewed out flames at the same time. This is located in front of the Container Park.
Fremont Experience
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNu6gIYbXEc
Container Park Praying Mantis Downtown Fremont Street, Las Vegas
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KzObHAQ0uM
In a way, really the future is here!
How can art and culture participation sustain society in this future?
It can sustain society as people recognize the impact it has on social behavior. It stimulates part of our brains and our minds in new ways and creates new connections. For those who see these kinds of connections, it widens our perspectives on other people, learn about other cultures through accessing stories, videos, art openings. It can be the glue that keeps people sane in a way. I really believe it’s an outlet to express who you are individually. It allows a unique way to be in this world. The fact we have technology at our fingertips so quickly is a blessing and we can take advantage of these opportunities in new ways now. It is huge for the younger generation and can also open up so much for older generations too.
How might transmedia experience/materials figure into this future?
Transmedia is all around us daily. We are all in a constant state of learning, visualizing and creating new opportunities for each other. It’s in our digital instant streaming of movies, documentaries and or on internet. We have the ability to skype, instantly message each other in no time at all and find new ways to make a recipe. We can share these ideas quickly. I had the opportunity to visit Japan in 1992 and I was truly enthralled by all the digital video projections in that year. To me, that was the future and I can only imagine what it’s like now. I had this awe struck moment of how advanced it is in Japan. The more connected we become, the quicker we can create new opportunities to advance. Sharing our skills, our abilities and build relationships with others on a global level, creates our future. I can see how much has truly changed in the last 12 years.