Is Technology Destroying the Value of Fine Art?

Could technology eventually devalue art? Supply and demand plays a large role in the value of a product. The smaller the quantity of a product the higher the value increases, the larger quantity the lower the value of the product in most cases. The program Photoshop as well as other computer programs can easily generate multiple copies of artwork with ease for mass distribution. Is computer-generated artwork less valuable because of this? Is it less valuable because it lacks the artist hand or originality?

            Paintings, sculptures, and drawings that are created with raw materials and created directly by the artist hand capturing the moment the brush/chisel/pencil/etc. touches the material being used. When the artist completes the artwork it is considered a one of a kind/an original. For example the painting “Starry Night” by Vincent Van Gogh has textural brush strokes, thick layers of paint, and may also contain traces of other materials that may have been stuck in the paint.(Starry Night is currently insured for 100 million dollars, and owned by the Metropolitan Museum of Art) This painting has great significance because of the time period, history, and the fact that even if Vincent was to paint a copy it could never be an exact duplicate making the painting a one of a kind. Does this physical interaction and skill of the artist add to the value? Does the artwork have to have the history to increase the value? Does the value increase because it is a one of a kind? Is a work of art more valuable based on who physically created it?

The real questions are, who decides the value of art? What is the value based on?

An article I currently read introduced a new technology that can create 3D replicas of master works of art down to the brush strokes, frames, and the artist signature. The only thing that can separate the copies from the original is the carbon date and by testing the materials microscopically. These copies go for about 29,000 dollars where the originals that get bid on go for millions. They say as of now the technology is not a threat, but will this devalue the artwork? They say they are just high quality knock offs and not the end of the high art market.

But with technologies such as this arising, what other technologies will be created that might begin to devalue art or create diminish the need to develop skills in this discipline? How as an art educator can I continue to defend and advocate for the arts with technologies that take away from the physical aspects of the materials and creating?

Could This New Technology Destroy the Value of All Famous Art?

Claymation and Stop Motion in the K-12 Classroom

Technology & Pedagogy : Claymation

This lesson is a very constructive way to incorporate both digital technologies and tradition materials in art. These way students can begin to create a correlation between current technologies and traditional methods, as well as critically analyzing how technology has evolved from stop motion Claymation to current animation. I chose this particular lesson plan because I firmly believe that students need to have the experience of hands on art making as well as learning all technologies available to them to broaden the spectrum of opportunity for creativity. The programs and technologies used in this lesson can be applied to other interests students may have outside of the classroom. This lesson is a fun and extremely interactive for the students while also helping them to exercise their democratic skills through collaboration.

For this lesson I had to adapt the standards because this lesson was based on the standards for the state of Arizona. I did however think that the concepts of the Claymation films should have some outside relevance that will be integrated into their films such as environmental issues, political issues, social issues, etc. This additive to the lesson would help further link it to the standard 1.1.8.D.1 to fulfill the intellectual and emotional requirements. The rests of the standard objectives are accomplished in this lesson plan. It covers the historical and innovative aspects of the technologies by introducing fun movies such as Chicken Run and Internet sites and videos to give students inspiration and background of how Claymation was first used. The use of various mediums paired with the use of digital technology satisfies the other objectives for this lesson.


Analysis Spreadsheet: Claymation Lesson

Experiencing

I have worked at a day care for eight years and counting, and it has proven to be fun yet challenging at times but in the end it has been extremely rewarding. Over my years of observing the children their love for recent technologies such as smartphones, iPods, and videogames became apparent to me. I would often offer to draw, paint, or making some type of craft, but many students were not interested if they were allowed to play on their electronic devices. But when these technologies were not available or allowed students became more involved and excited to participate in the art activities. Creating with the students was both fun and a wonderful learning experience for me as a prospective teacher. The most exciting part for me was to see them excited about creating along with their stories and reasoning behind every mark created or craft built.

This brings back fond memories for me as a child. After school my mom would have crafts and art supplies ready for three of my friends and I. Sometimes we would even use objects I would have never dreamer of using as a child, such as potatoes to make stamps, found objects (buttons, hangers, knickknacks), and even food into sculptures. As a child this can help to enhance ones critical thinking abilities and a chance to explore the world we live in by stimulating all of the senses. Now to this day I am constantly searching for new ways to create and materials to use. Without our senses we would not be able to experience the world as we do, tasting, touching, hearing, smelling, and seeing. How would we experience the world without these senses? Does technology enhance or limit our experiences? Creating is based on life experience, emotions, and knowledge, but are some technologies changing these things in our lives in a more positive aspect or negative aspect? I believe there are both pros and cons on both ends of the argument, but personally I hope that technology never replaces the physical aspects of life experiences.

Art = Technology =Art

Technology has not changed art but simply added a medium, as well as another vehicle that can be used to help the outlet of creativity and self-expression. Technology also acts as an aid in the production of older methods of art such as painting, sculpting, and drawing. The advancement of photography aids in capturing a scene or a moment in time, which if desired can be transformed into another medium by providing the visual reference. Photography has also taken claim of its own artistic medium category. This can help others express themselves even if the may not be artistically inclined in drawing, painting, or sculpting. The more options people have for self-expression the better, because every one has an equal opportunity to tap into their creative side. This will only further help to advocate for the arts as an important subject in education. Art can help one to discover individual interest and become more aware of the world. This can be achieved through investigation of various topics and philosophical inquiry on global issues and think outside of the box. Art was considered a desirable subject when the U.S. was competing in the space race with Russia. Art showed it promoted critical thinking and was what was missing from education. So in someway art and technology have very similar qualities. Art is created based on knowledge and feelings one has that are investigated through various mediums and constant invention that can either be useful or not. Where technology is created based on scientific knowledge that is created for a practical purpose. So really technology and art aid and influence each other in literal ways but also in innovative ways. Technology will benefit art as long as it does not become the only way to create art or take away from the skills that artists have had to develop over many years.

The History of the Pencil

History of Technology in Art.

Pencils, keeping creativity alive now and forever in every classroom since the 1900's!