Introduction
An unprecedented surge of new information and communication technologies has culminated into an increasingly intertwined world. Advancements made by man in the area of ICT during the last half of the twentieth century has accelerated globalization of all spheres of human life at a pace never imagined before.
Today, information about political and socioeconomic happenings in remote parts of the world is passed on to other parts on a real-time basis. This task is a discussion of the way arts and artists are being affected and influenced by realities of the contemporary world.
Imagination and Expression
Since the very humble beginning of human civilizations, man has had various artistic ways of expressing his feelings, emotions, experiences, and perceptions. These expressions underscore one’s society, environments, nature, and significant historical events like battles or immigration episodes, as well as normal and bizarre imaginations.
These ways range from performing arts such as dances, drama, music, visual arts, and plastic arts like painting and drawing among others. For instance, during the Stone Age, man did Rock Art whereby, he painted the pictures of the animals he hunted and his tools among other thrilling experiences of his ordinary life and lives of his ancestors in the state of nature, on the walls of his cave dwellings (Pickover, 1992, p.16).
Therefore, art has been a vital component of all human civilizations and has evolved alongside other aspects of human cultures to the extent that, today the most talented artists like actors, actresses, painters and musicians are the most celebrated individuals who hold esteemed social status envied by many.
How arts and artists are affected and influenced by realities of today
Advancement in technology is certainly a weighty drive of progress and history in any society. For example, unprecedented progress in ICT has altered the way people do business, how they interact with their relatives and friends, and even the way they govern themselves. Arts and artists have inevitably been affected and influenced by advancement in technologies, changes in global communication, and an accelerated tempo of globalization in various ways.
Today, progress in technology and computer-supported arts permit artists to find out new forms of artistic representations that put more emphasis on the visual and creative features of a given artistic piece. For instance, computer-modeling platforms enable sculptors to observe their work in virtual reality prior to its production (Ehrlich, 1976, p.111).
Therefore, artists can create pieces of artwork that are more closely associated to their initial motives; thereby, they push forward accuracy of execution in arts (Ehrlich, 1976, p.114).
This has in turn led to increasingly truly realized varieties of an artist imagination. Moreover, advancement in technology has facilitated integration of various kinds of arts as artists endeavor to produce more creative and imaginative artworks and remain competitive in domestic and new global markets.
Developments in photographic technologies have had profound impacts on modern arts and artists have embraced photography as an artistic instrument. For instance, modern artists have already successfully applied present developments and inventions in photography to painting (Ehrlich, 1976, p139).
Globalization and the ease with which artists can access information about people, places, living things, happenings, environments, and communities in distant lands have undoubtedly influenced their imaginative power.
Today, different classes of artists including musicians, painters, actors, and sculptors and others are faced with the reality of the need to create artworks that can appeal to different people living in various diverse global societies (Crawford, 2003, p.4). In other words, they are faced by an inevitable pressure of the need to impart a global perspective on their works of art in order to remain relevant in an increasingly globalized world.
Conclusion
Modern arts and artists have unavoidably been affected and influenced in various ways by advancement in technology, globalization, and other current everyday factors. Arts and artists in today’s world have come under pressure of the need to appeal to people and communities with diverse social and political orientations.
Even though artistic borrowing is not a new phenomenon per se, it has clearly been accelerated by the progress in ICT and ease of movement. In addition, artists have experienced an increase of their fans and consumers of their artworks.
References
Crawford, R. (2003). The Global Influence on Interior Design and the Impact on a Family and Consumer Sciences Professional. Web.
Ehrlich, G. (1976). Technology and the Artist. Ann Arbor: University Microfilm International.
Pickover, A. (1992). Visions of the Future. New York: St. Martin’s Press.