“I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way—things I had no words for.” – Georgia O’Keeffe
What is Digital art to you? What is its true purpose? To questions like these, some would choose to say something like “It elicits feelings”, or “Makes me think deep”, or even something like “It’s just nice to look at”.
These responses, all of which, are valid. The real purpose of Digital art is to be seen by people and experienced as much as possible. Whether it makes you think deeply or you feel it’s just nice to look at, the chances of an art piece being successful is if it reaches more and more people. Technology is the ultimate tool in delivering on this goal of reaching the masses.
It not only enables an artist of today to let it all hang out but also provides them with an avenue to create artistic experiences that are more immersive in nature. This is why art has always been popular.
This is why it creates a never-ending cycle of interest in art encouraging artists to create more.
Technology has made things fast-paced and there’s no going back. Honestly speaking, not many want to go back. Most art we see today is heavily digital. It started with art entering social media in its early days and opening a door for artists to showcase to people from the entire world.
Before the internet came into existence, it was difficult for an artist to gain an audience; lot of back and forth with art galleries and magazine owners. But today anyone can create and post online. If they’re lucky, someone from the other side may even buy it.
Why Digital Art is better
NOHlab, Prima Materia, 2017. Prima Materia is a stereoscopic piece taking the audience of the Ars Electronica Center’s Deep Space 8K on an audiovisual journey. © Ars Electronica and Robert Bauernhansl.
Admit it. Traditional art is expensive. In fact, very expensive. And no we’re not talking about the buying part, it’s the creation stage where supplies from paint and paper alone can burn a hole through your wallet.
But on the other hand, digital art requires little to no cost for equipment or supplies. Yes, it’s true. People have been making art for free on their basic smartphones. Take a look at Beeple who sold an NFT for $69 Million.
Digital art is also great for the community since you can (based on licensing) pick anything from the internet, put your brush to it and create something entirely new.
Impact of Digital Art
One can create digital art using computers and other smart devices in a way that wasn’t possible before. Probably because there were no smart devices when Van Gogh was alive.
The most significant impact digital art has had on the modern world is that people do not see art tied up with elitism or high furnished rooms. They now see it as pieces that are convenient, easy to carry and publish.
Surely, you’ve seen an artist who carries their iPad, coffee, and a fancy electronic pencil around. Digital art has also transformed the way we sell things online.
The Future
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In a nutshell, the digital artists of today should be excited about what the world would look like in the future. Machine learning, AI, and NFT are becoming closely knit with each other and in a few years, we will start to see something extraordinary happen.
Apart from this, the potential of digital art and its distribution is just immense. Can you imagine an art gallery where you can wear VR headsets and explore a whole new transformed art experience? We can.
The NFT angle
Photo illustration by Slate
NFT started catching people’s attention back in 2017 when some were trading cat pictures with each other. But now, in 2022, NFT is known to bring a revolution to the art industry where most artists are eager to create for the modern age of the internet, web 3.0
If you still don’t know what an NFT is, let us get you up to speed. NFT is a digital certificate that tells others if you own artwork or anything else.
Where physical artwork’s reach may be limited because of geographical facts, NFT breaks the barriers allowing artists to display and sell their art to a larger audience without even the need for various in-person exhibitions.
Final Words
When all is said and done, the group that considers digital art to be better than physical art is still a minority. However, digital art really does have the potential to become the majority in the next decade. The future of digital art is instrumental in expressing ideas and emotions, that further invoke and compel people to make changes in society.
