I wouldn’t say everything can be had easily – good ideas are just as hard to find as they used to be… What matters I think is not the process, but the end result… Otherwise, Warhol’s soap boxes etc, would be of no interest at all, if we were to judge art by how easy it is to create…Since the process is almost always invisible in art, the sense of wonder, for me at least, remains – an extraordinary idea, a beautiful thought, a skilled hand… All these things are as amazing as they were before the web.
via Conscientious Extended | A Conversation with Phil Toledano.
9 Comments
I agree…….’the process is always invisible in art’
Everything is just more accessible to everyone – from
a metropolis to a tiny town in a West African country
(depending on the reliability of the internet connection
and electricity that is!). There’s nothing more
wondrous than seeing a beautiful piece of art glowing from
your laptop screen, whilst sitting on a rough-hewn
stool in the middle of the Gambian bush, surrounded by totally
awe-struck kids looking over your shoulder, seeing something
for the first time ever. An amazing double delight that will take
a very long time for that sense of wonder to abate – for me and
definitely for those kids :)
Actually, I think the web is a great source of wonder. We are able to see and share images and events as never before.
I concur with above comments… I think our sense of wonder has just been expanded to amazing new limits… Some of the shit I see on this internet thing are pretty far out and wondrous… using ellipsis all the time when I type is also just as wondrous!
…and why wonder how many other great photographers are out there that I might like to meet and be introduced to their work, when I can utilize the internet to meet and become friends with them in real life? Which I have done and I and grateful for.
[…] Conscientious Extended | A Conversation with Phil Toledano. But I found it over at “A Photo Editor” … Sometimes things go around and around. And sometimes that is ok. I only did not include the […]
As the volume of images and choices increase exponentially with no sign of letting up, our expectations are set higher, dilution and devaluation of the media and content itself occurs and a “numbing” affect sets in.
This dilution, short attention span and a “devaluing affect” are perhaps some of the biggest “cons” that come along with our pros and an unavoidable dynamic that comes with a billion choices… this potentially altered way that we receive them and value them.
Perhaps that is simply the way that things will evolve where the images in themselves become less and less valuable, even as they take on a more prominent role in the nature of communication itself.
Ultimately, images may prove to be of zero financial value while providing the underpinning to our culture.
@Doug Rickard,
Some provocative thoughts.
(I have a feeling I may experience that while try to digest your site alone :o – it’s a compliment).
I’ll add the theories of Jean Baudrillard (“Simulacra and Simulation”) as another strong consider on the signal to noise ratio, and dynamics of communication and meaning.
Is there really a problem with the expansive availability of anything on the web? Is art or imagery really going to be devalued just because it can be viewed on the web?
It is a strongly debatable subject that deserves the involvement of the creators to help determine the outcome. I think unfortunately that many may have not let their voices be heard.
A question, do the content creators allow the receivers and distributors of their creations to dilute its value through the desire for big money over ethics? Because there is value to every piece viewed otherwise why is it out there? It may seem like mass proliferation without purpose but the purpose is a big ROI, give consumers something they don’t expect and they come back for more because they think your better than whatever their favorite thing is ten times over.
To me the web is a portal to people, places, and things. because you can’t fully experience them on a laptop screen. I flew into Cairo and could see the pyramids off in the distance, but didn’t fully experience them.
tnx
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