During the European renaissance that
took place during the last millennium the premiere
artists of the day were inspired by the classic artistic styles
of ancient Greece and Rome. As they attempted to revive these classic
styles of art, they found that being a talented artist was not all
that was required to emulate these classic styles. They found that
to be able to create intricate lifelike art that was representative
of the elaborate sculptures and carvings of the great ancients,
they needed to expand their knowledge of science and nature.
Renaissance artists engaged in studies of the human body,
distance, perspective, nature, architecture, light and many other
subjects. This knowledge was applied to the artistic endeavors of
the time. This allowed the artists of this period to create art
in a splendor that had not been seen since before the middle ages.
The New Media artist is faced with similar
challenges. The numerous and varied skill sets required to produce and
manipulate digital art are unlike any required by the old media. The digital
artist must be technically savvy as well as creative and artistically talented.
He needs to understand the functions of thousands of menu options contained in
dozens of software programs. He needs to understand both the language of art
and the language of technology. The ability to grasp complex technical ideas is
a critical part of this new craft.
Michael Rush, author, theater artist,
international filmmaker and critic, stated “…the most dynamic work
occurs when the technology catches up with the visions of the artist,
or conversely, artists catch up with technology.”
(p. 192). The digital world presents the artist with a constantly
changing environment. New technologies are constantly emerging and
existing technologies continue to evolve and improve. The digital
artist is constantly presented with new ways to explore artistic
creation. To keep up with this continual rapid evolution of technology
the skills of the digital artist are in a constant state of augmentation.
Many artists find a niche that fits their needs and concentrate
on one particular style or technology to pursue their creative work.
The tools that exist today already offer the artist more options
than one person could ever possibly master. Yet software is constantly
getting more versatile and user-friendly. Software developers are
constantly inventing new effects and better ways to create art and
imitate life. It is obviously beneficial to the new media artist
to keep up with technology as well as artistic evolution.
The Internet, and Internet art, are products of the new media. The
very nature of digital media is causing the evolution of a new breed
of artist through the blending of technology and creativity.
As the artist works within this new medium it becomes
evident that the more the artist grows with technology the more innovative and
inspired his artwork becomes. Once we consider the infinite
possibilities that the digital universe offers, we realizes that the creative
possibilities are practically unlimited.
As we examine the Internet in terms of the new media we realize that
the Internet is a boundless, wide open medium of communication with
room for all types of self expression. Net art is many different
art forms displayed through the electronic conduit of the Internet
Graphic artists, writers, programmers, digital artists, musicians,
photographers, engineers, designers, filmmakers and dozens of other
creative disciplines can create net art using any medium that can
be displayed via the net. The Internet is the one worldwide medium
that is accessible to the common citizen.
