Thanks for your great response to my question about
the problems of technology. As I said in my earlier
post, I am a supporter of technology and my work in
this wonderful profession has been greatly directed
toward supporting technology initiatives. Yet, as a
person in my mid 50s, I am growing more and more
concerned about the mis-use of technology,
de-personalization, and the lack of immediacy of
experience. I think we need to move cautiously and
humanely with how we use technology. I too think
technology is a great tool. However, there is a down
side.
The down side is not recognizing that the
reproductions we see via the Internet is not the art
itself. It is a reproduction and can not fully
replicate the experience of standing in front of the
original. As I type this message, I can not see your
face, feel your presence, see your body language. I
have a different experience communicating with you and
others online. Is that difference a matter of
concern? I am not sure. There are advantages to
being anonymous and there are advantages to being able
to write-talk my thoughts and review my words before
sending my message along. I enjoy writing and I
usually feel I can project warmth, compassion, and
humor via email. All the classes that I teach at the
university level are taught online, so you know I am a
supporter of technology. Yet I do have my concerns
and doubts about the limitations of technology as it
exists today. I have published a book and numerous
articles about the positive benefits of technology.
Yet, I am always aware that there is a down-side to
technology. This is what I would like to talk about
and how we can minimize the down-side of technology.
As you know, we can not hug a pixel. What are the
implications to art making. The experience making art
with technology is so much different than making art
with traditional materials like charcoal, paint, clay,
etc. Is that difference a matter of concern or is it
just different?
When I created art on a regular basis, I loved putting
my hands on charcoal, smearing it on the paper,
erasing the charcoal, engraving into the paper,
sanding the paper, tearing the paper, adding graphite
and conte crayon to to mix. I loved how my hands felt
as my creative ideas merged with the paper and the
media. I don't get the same experience creating a
charcoal drawing using Painter...I appreciate the
power of technology to do things I can not do entirely
on my own without the aid of the technology. These
are just part of my thoughts about this very big
issue. This is not a black or white issue...there are
a large number of grays. I would like to discuss
these grays and how we can temper the so-called
negative sides of technology.
Looking forward to a happy discourse about this
important topic. :-)
Cheers,
Diane Gregory
--- Richard Gross <ralight@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
> Hi Diane and Happy New Year to you and Everyone
> else,
>
>
> Diane, I understand your reservation about
> technology
> used in art education and to a point agree with your
> reservations.
>
> But
>
> I see technology as a tool for education, not the
> end
> all to be all. As far as the quote you stated,
> technology is designed in such a way so that we do
> not experience the world. This too can be true,
> but
> not in such a blanket statement. Again technology
> is
> simply a tool. How that tool is used is up to the
> individual.
>
> Let me make this analogy. Take the car for
> instance.
> The car can be a mode of transportation, getting us
> from point A to point B. The car can be means
> of
> profession, such as cab drivers, truck drivers, etc.
>
> Or, the car can be a weapon that kills, fatal auto
> accidents happen all the time and felons are
> convicted
> of murder and manslaughter. The outcome is all
> about
> how the car is used. The same can be said for
> technology.
>
> I am in my 50s. I mention this as a point of view
> and context. When I went through public school the
> art books we had in the schools and local libraries
> were far and few in between. Art books were and
> still
> are very expensive. Growing up in New York I was
> lucky to have seen Picassos. Dalis, Monets and
> countless other great masters in the flesh. Think
> of all the art students around the world that were
> deprived (at that time) of these great works of art.
>
> Today, the greatest collections, masterpieces and
> great masters are just a mouse click away. No one
> is
> deprived of viewing art anymore. A students access
> to what books in local or school libraries is no
> longer an issue.
>
> Technology is also a practical creative tool, just
> like a paintbrush or charcoal in the hands of an
> artist. It is yet another tool at the artists
> disposal. How that tool is used is up to the
> individual.
>
> I guess Im an optimist at heart. I would rather
> look
> at technology being used for the better good than
> with
> reservation and in a negative context. Like
> everything else in humanity, technology with be used
> for both good and bad. Look at what we did with
> nuclear energy
>
> btw... does anyone have anything to add to the list
> I
> posted?
>
>
> Respectfully Submitted,
>
> Richard
>
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