The Future of Art - “Fight or Flee?”
Fiberglass pre-cast of Nurture.
THE FUTURE OF ART (Series, Article 1)
“Fight or Flee?”
What will the future of Art look like? The world of Visual Arts is a very different place than it was one year ago much less a decade ago. Technology speeds up every aspect from artwork creation, marketing and selling, to viewer enjoyment. Mentioning the future, causes some artists’ eyes to go wide with fear. It’s always been hard to make a living as an artist, now throw in worldwide competition that fabricates at a much grander and cheaper scale. Bespoke craftmanship is a desire of the past. With so many challenges, what is an artist to do? Artists are forced to adapt, learn new techniques, and keep current or be forced into obscurity.
Gone are the days where wealthy patrons fund the artist - big corporations and galleries now fill those shoes. Scammers have entered the arena, blindly taking advantage of the most starving artist - robbing the poor to feed the rich? ARTificial Intelligence (AI) can be a friend or foe or even frenemy – embrace the entity but beware the day when the rug is pulled. Advances in fabrication and material science make it easier to create, multiply, and enlarge – yet sustainability issues influence medium choices. What is copyright? What is public domain? What to do about NTFs – should you sell your soul to the devil or profit from a mere digital image? Competition is fierce. Unheard of numbers submit public art proposals – big architect firms and teams of established artists monopolize the process. Social media encourages market expansion – should you open the door to viral trending?
Fame or financial wealth has never been a driver for an artist – we often don’t have a choice. The passion to create is not a desire, but a need that governs all aspects of our lives for better or worse. The future poses so many questions. Can an artist navigate the tangled web of success? Change is inevitable, if artists adapt, the web becomes a chrysalis, if they don’t, it’s a spider’s cocoon.
Explore these issues with us at Sandra Bell Sculpture and stay tuned for the first of follow-on articles…up next…
THE FUTURE OF ART Series – Article 2 – WHO PAYS FOR ART?
“Bow to the New King and Queen.”