This week's article explores the shift in culture around art and its financial value in the world. The abundance of digital art that is being produced has transformed the value of how much physical art pieces can be sold for. Creativity is no longer restricted to pads of paper and canvas. Softwares and digital art platforms have made it possible for artwork to exist solely online. This artwork, floating in digital space, is now accessible and oftentimes free. If someone shares their art piece on social media, it has the potential of ending up in the hands of millions of strangers who can view it and sometimes even use or repurpose it. In most cases, people accessing online art do so for free, and they don’t know the artist's motives for the piece, let alone their first and last name. This is a pretty unfortunate development for creators who are looking to make their livelihood by selling their artwork. However, this shift into the digital realm of artwork is great for people who crave inspiration, especially those who don’t have the means to buy expensive paintings or visit art museums. Until this new age of social media and a digitized world, art was exclusive. The current age that we are in is filled to the brim with artwork and creativity that is now accessible, no matter your location or socio economic status. It is there for all to see, use, learn from, and appreciate. I don’t have a solid solution that would please both the artist and the viewer, but I do wish that there were better ways for digital artists to be acknowledged and compensated for their work. As funny as it seems, the posting of a gif for $5,800 could be the start of a compromise: that is if someone chooses to support the artist in this very generous way.
Comments