Technology's influence on 20th century art forms and artistic diversity

¶ … DYNAMICS BETWEEN ART & TECHNOLOGY

Art & Technology

From the earliest moments of human history until the present and certainly into the future, the relationship between art and technology will be a dynamic one. Technology has directly impacted art forms such as architecture, photography, sculpture, and painting. Painting, sculpture, and architecture are much older art forms than photography, whose roots come from the latter portion of the 19th century. Nonetheless, each of these forms has changed technology and has been changed by technology. In numerous cases within each art form, technological developments in other industries, not related to art, influenced developments in each art respectively. The paper will discuss and consider connections between technology and art including culture and gender.

The great industrialization at the turn of the 20th century changed the world and every industry. The 20th century made possible the further development of existing industries and made possible the development of new industries such as the film industry. Major technological developments in the steel industry made possible new kinds of edifices for architects to imagine and construct. Developments in commercial aviation, commercial shipping, international trading, and mining made possible new kinds of painting as painters in the 20th century had more access to travel the world, sample new cultures, meet other artists, and take in other forms of inspiration to innovate the art scene. Technological advances in the plastic industries and with respect to digital technology made possible the emergence and continuous growth of photography as an art form.

In some cases, influences in one art form inspire changes in another. For example, advances in photographic technology are inspired by the art form of painting; in this way, development of software such as Photoshop helps make digital photographs more closely resemble paintings. Moreover in this case of photography and Photoshop, photographic technology influences another industry (software) and the software in turn influences many photographers and their photographic senses.

All these art forms have been greatly influenced by technology. Perhaps the evolution of photography due to technological influences is more prominent in the highly visual global culture of the 21st century. The world is much more aware of image and image production as much of the media we consume is visual and comes to us via various examples of technology. This does not mean that other art forms such as architecture, sculpture, and painting have not been influenced by technology less than photography. There are buildings in Japan that withstand earthquakes while sustaining minimal damage compared to buildings which are not constructed by the same methods. That is an example of advancement in architecture. Sculptors have a greater range of materials to choose from because of the kinds of tools that exist now as well as the materials that they may not have had access to before commercial airlines, the Internet, and other technologies.

Art and technology of the 20th century were additionally influenced by increased contact and communication among the international communities and the rising strength of feminism in the latter part of the 20th century. Many of the most celebrated art forms of the 20th century came from within specific cultural groups such as Jazz, Rock and Roll, Cubism, Nouvelle Vague, and post modernism. Without the convergence of, diversity of, and massive expressions of the many minority groups including women, the art of the 20th century would not have reached the historical heights as it did. In many instances, the oppression and injustice the minority groups faced expressed itself as new art forms such as hip hop and feminism.