So, here we go. The purpose is to have a look at what the influences of fine art are, and discuss those influences in the context of open social network platform.
To my mind, this includes every form of visual communication. Let’s face it, they all sprang from “art”, at some point in time. (The statement that all visual communciation started out as art can be questioned; however, my mind is not up for debate.) Some would argue that there should be a separation between art and communication… go ahead, if you are so inclined, I won’t even engage in that argument.
My point is, while all visual communication is not *fine art, we can look at all *visual communication with the discerning, and hopefully objective, eye. We can look at the factors for social and political impact. We can see what influences were or are brought to bear in both the creation and the dissemination. We can challenge the concepts, the means, the medium, the message, the success or failure.
You might be asking why? Because by doing so we help shape those factors and maybe learn something in the process. In this world-gone-mad age of extremes we are seeing the masses stepping up to the plate via these social networks to bring truth back to media, and having a significant influence. The faces and models of capitalism, and democracies, are being forced to change, forged by the voices of a global network of impassioned pioneers generally known as the blogosphere.
Despite being hodge podge and rag tag, off point, or just utterly self absorbed ramblings of boderline personality disorders, it still manages, in the smaller percentage of mindful and purposeful deliberation; to bring to bear an element of social consequence for the extremists and power mongers in all the dark corners of the world. THIS is the face of visual communication, today.
That said, a picture is still worth a thousand words. A fact that has not escaped the attention of the blogosphere, and while many employ only stock images… even that (as a trend) is worthy scrutiny.
However, I will hasten to provide a few examples of today’s visual languages, how they are shaping, and being shaped by, the culture of technology.
AIGA currently features an article called The Amazing Visual Language of Processing, by Holly Willis of the University of Southern California’s Institute for Multimedia Literacy. Included in this article are stunning examples of fine art applied in advertising and motion pictures, but the lead in was specifically formulated for viral video on the net.
In contrast, there’s the Daily Visual Language Project on the Behance Network, which is, essentialy, an entirely visual blog.
At first glance it seems the two references share nothing in common. Yet, both are utilizing the same modality in the same manner, with the same intentions: to inform and influence, in the culture of the moment. It’s a stunning concept! Culture so radically impacted by the medium that it becomes (a) global and (b) dependent upon the medium! The implications are staggering, to say the least.
So it is that this blog is born…
Tags: blogosphere, Blogroll, environmental, factors, fine art, influences, movements, open social network, patterns, political, social, trends, visual communication
