First and foremost it should be accepted by now that film, photography and graphic images are new forms of art. So I don’t feel as though they have necessarily “changed the meaning of image.” They have just increased our artist vocabulary as we develop these new areas of art. This becomes an every growing issue when a decision of “What is Art?” arises. Images flood our lives and who are we to judge what is and is not art. Wither or not the art is good is the real issue, but lets not get into that.
So I guess the case really comes down to these mediums developing new artist fields. They have allowed creative genius to take on new levels and with each new medium under lays a foreshadowing of the next new thing. The purpose of these art forms does however serve a different purpose as it once did. These days art is used primarily as a way to gain money and fame. The new mediums have increased these desires and stripped the original value of art. So it is easy to place the “blame” on new mediums of art, when in fact these mediums were just developed and made popular in the age where the desires of money and fame dominate the culture they are trusted into.
The reason things are mass produced today is to make money. They aren’t mass produced to show the art… okay maybe somewhat but lets put it frankly can you get a great replica of a piece of work for free, very doubtful. The new forms of art such as film and photography are made to be mass produced. They are not an individual pieces were every movement made to create the piece was planned and structured for the piece. You can produce exact replicas and it does not take away from the original meaning because it’s all the same. (I just don’t know how else to say that.)
Now when it comes to machinima, I believe there is some kind of division. Yes it is a new media art form, but it is something that has more meaning to the designer. From what I grasp from the concept it is an art made by people for the passion and not for the fame and money. This has more relation to aura in the means of ritual. In some weird twisted way the “designer” is paying tribute to the game (in many cases.) Since I am not a pro on this genre, I’m more than likely 100% percent wrong, but from the brief summary I have read this is the conclusion I have come to. Machinima is a rare example in this consumer culture where art is being made for arts sake. And it’s limited in the sense of mass production because it usually does not reach a large audience. Machinima is an element that is barely known outside it’s own world.
Well that’s all I got. Till the next time BON BON out!
I see where you are coming from when you say the reason things are mass produced is to make money. I don't think that is necessarily true, though. That may be the intention for some people, but a lot of people create duplicates so that if people are interested in seeing the art they have a chance, without having to travel far to see the original piece.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you when talking about machinima. It doesn't seem like the artists that create this type of media are looking for any profit, it is just for personal use. I am also not an expert on this topic, but I don't think there are many machinima artists out there who actually do make money. Before reading the article about machinima, I had never even heard of the topic - so that tells you something right there.
The economic factor in mass production is very significant- the fame aspect as well especially when we consider the types of objects we mass produce now and the overall complexity of modern marketing. Celebrities in a sense are mass produced in that they generally fit a set template or are variations upon a theme. In this case mass production is self-reinforcing. Once a formula is discovered that functions (sells) it is replicated endlessly- the economic connection to Benjamin argument leads us into the culture industry..
ReplyDeleteI agree with you 100% when you say machinima is an example of art being made for the sake of art. That is why i feel machinima has its own aura separate but still relevant to the game itself. However, if machinima became overwhelmingly popular and all creators began getting paid I doubt people would still being doing it solely for the love of the game.
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