Generative Topics in New Media Art

I am examining the cultural aspects of new media art and the stance of consumer versus creator. I am also interested in the evolution of technology that provides for new media art and in todays culture, what can be classified as "fine art".

A good example of this is an article I found in January/February's issue of Technology Review 2009, published by MIT entitled, Bootleg Battle Lines: Rival Aesthetics in the Mashup Community, by Larry Hardesty. 

The article is about the artist Gregg Gillis, better known as Girl Talk. Gillis himself is a former biomedical engineer but now performs live as a avant-garde deejay. However, the article continues, "the mashup, a fledgling art form that, like Gillis's shows, blurs the boundary between creator and consumer" (Hardesty, 70). The article further continues, "the mashup is a distinctly 21st century phenomenon, made possible by the proliferation of digital music files and the increasing quality and accessibility of software for manipulating them" (Hardesty, 70).

There is no doubt that new media art has derived out of the advancement in our practice of technology, science and experimentation. As an American culture we may have more exposure to new media given our resources, socioeconomic background and education level. 

In contrast to my current article, I also took a look at commentary on computers and technology from a later date. In Viktor Lowenfeld's notorious textbook republished in 1987, Creative and Mental Growth, had some interesting insight to offer. 

Lowenfeld writes, "... technology available in computer programs is comparable to other media... [technology] may be less personally threatening to manipulate forms produced at the touch of a button than it is to become involved in the creative product..."(p.425- 426). Given what Lowenfeld writes, does this mean that if artists are not actively exposed and engaged in the rich environment and processes of traditional art, experiencing the art process through sensory experiences- it is not considered art? 

Finally my last example that best exemplifies the dichotomy of new media art and traditional media (fine art) from Lowenfeld's  Creative and Mental Growth, " As modern technology develops, the process of teaching art will also change... years ago it was considered to teach block printing. These blocks were actually used in the production of books... the need for people to produce block prints has long since disappeared. The copy machines can now produce an unlimited number of prints... lettering, mechanical drawing, and repetitive designs may soon be relegated to electronic machines..."(p.428).