Daily Post 1420
TECH PROPELLED ART
Art and technology don’t go hand in hand is the general perception. What would have digital technology done for the benefit and sustainability of art remains a matter of conjecture. Hard fact is that Necessity is the Mother of Invention. This truism is the most stark today. Human beings are able to socialise, get educated and work without meeting anybody. This facet of human existence nobody would have accepted in the wildest dreams even in the month of February. The main functions of our life have been engulfed by digital transformation is all well known. But there are unknown areas which have felt the same heat and are getting wedded to digital technology in their own unique way.
Merchandise, goods of daily usage, IT services and lots of other products and services has gone the digital marketing way. IT behemoths have played a great role in making our life liveable in the pandemic times. In an existential crisis, art is the last thing which comes to our mind. As anything else Art is slowly and steadily moving on to the digital platform. That is the only way to survive. Digital is the default and physical is an exception. This being the backdrop, the shift is slowly and steadily happening. Online painting classes have already started and some selling of paintings have made its way to the online readymade platforms. Though these certainly provide vent to creative energies, they cannot be called as an organised or structured response to the problem afflicting the art field.
The launch of the website today on an online platform by Akanksha is the first structured response to the pandemic challenge to art. It is online exhibition and sale mechanism, with feedback and a regular website. With more that 60 artists already onboard and having the blessings of all who matter in the fraternity, it is bound to be a success. In reality the very launch is a testimony to a concerted effort in that direction and few have already committed to buying from the online platform. As they move further, somebody will have to create a multi-sided platform for art objects, paintings being one of the main items on the menu. Either we do on our own or one Amazon will find its way into each artist and buyers homes.
Institutional memory is a challenge, which has to be fine tuned. Art is at the cusp to breaking free through Digital Akanksha. A back to back art repository has to happen, what the contours would be like is left to the artists choice. We should be able to reach an art product with the same ease of locating a book in the public domain. Artists can’t afford to become Digital Guinea Pigs in the hands of Digital Tricksters. Printouts are already being sold, with artists being left high and dry. They have to understand the technology, tools and the resources. Crowd sourcing can come in handy. New digital art institutions need to be created to fill in huge gaps in the nascent art ecosystem. Old established institutions have to be digitally refurbished. Multimedia enabled online classes could be the game changer. Blockchain Technology will help sort out the chain of ownership issues as traceability is inbuilt.
ONLY TECH PROPELLED ART WOULD SURVIVE THE COVID-19 ONSLAUGHT.