Most of the time, here on TAA, we focus on ways to make money from art. I want to take a step back and examine a bigger question.
Art is supposed to affect people, right? Even if they can’t articulate why, it should say something…right?
The Internet is a lot more than just a way to check email, pay bills, and see funny cat videos. Online communities are changing who we are and how we act. When information is available at any time, it’s not a matter of knowing, it’s a matter of thinking deeply about the subject.
How many artists are thinking deeply about how the Internet affects us a culture? Where is the art that expresses this?
How many artists are using the Web to create the art that communicates these ideas? How many artists are really connecting with the large numbers of people that they could connect with?
The truth is that there is a lot more to art than painting a canvas. You have to think about how your work will be received in context. More and more often the primary or first context is digital. It’s not enough to simply scan your art and place it on the web. You have an opportunity to create art that can only be made in that context.
In this post, I want to share some of the most amazing art that only the Web could make possible. Then I want to challenge you, as an artist, to take inspiration and think deeply about what this means.
Ready? Here we go.
Eric Whitacre’s 2,000 voice Youtube choir
What could you do with your art if you were able to harness the power of large numbers of people like this? Don’t think about how you’re not an editor/programmer/web developer. You ARE an artist. You ARE a visionary.
The truly rare gift is the person who can manifest the unseen, and then help others translate that into reality. Eric had a vision of people singing his song all across the globe, and he figured out a way to make that happen, and it was beautiful.
No One Belongs Here More Than You
This website does a brilliant job of not only promoting the author’s book, but is also a funny and touching commentary on how artists are expected to market themselves. It’s completely unorthodox, and it worked. It garnered meme status and has been referenced hundreds of times in link collections over the years.
To This Day project
Many artists become artists because they feel strongly about a particular topic. Shane Koyczan used animation and spoken word to create a beautiful performance piece that let people know what it feels like to be bullied – and how to overcome being bullied. It garnered 1.4 millions views on Youtube in two days. The video is changing the way that people think about bullying.
Amanda Palmer and #LOFNOTC
Love her or hate her, Amanda Palmer’s entire life is a piece of performance art. If there is a single artist who understands how the Web affects people, it’s her. She has such a deep connection with her fans that they will do almost literally anything for her, including buying $19,000 worth of t-shirts in about 10 hours, and spending hours on Friday nights hanging out with her online.
Take This LolliPop
TakeThisLollipop.com is what happens when web developers partner with people who are trying to convey a message. One part freaky horror film, one part message about privacy, one part crazy piece of digital art, this is one of my favorite things I’ve ever seen anyone do. TakeThisLollipop asks you to sign in with your Facebook account, and then uses your pictures and your friends’ pictures to assemble a short horror film with you as the implied victim.
How Do I Create Something Like This?
Great question. There’s no predictable way of creating something that will capture the imagination and emotion of the world at large, or even a large group of people. There are, however, some things you can do:
- Be prolific – “I write one page of masterpiece to ninety-one pages of shit. I try to put the shit in the wastebasket.” – Ernest Hemingway. Try things. Experiment. Learn from your mistakes and Fail Harder.
- Collaborate – The To This Day Project was more than just a single artist. There was a whole team of people involved to create this video. Learn to make art not just by yourself, but through collaborative processes as well. As the world becomes more interconnected, collaborative creation is becoming the norm.
- Learn basic HTML & code – basic coding skills are the new knowing how to type. Not only will it help you create awesome experiences online, but you will be able to collaborate better with others when you can speak the basics of digital languages. Get to know some web developers and designers and talk to them about your ideas.
- Form a connection with your audience – Get out of your studio, and out of your shell, by connecting with your fans and collectors. If they feel connected to you, they will support you through the work you create, and they will push you to do things you never thought were possible.
Now What?
I think we’re still in the early stages of seeing what kind of amazing things that artists can do online. Those who are more comfortable with the Web will take their developing artistic skills and sensibilities and turn them into something really fun, and very lucrative. In addition to the artists I mentioned above, I think Natasha Wescoat, David Hoang, and Hugh Mcleod are all doing fabulous things online.
We need to nurture the amazing creativity of these and other artists so we can realize the potential that the Web has to offer.
Do you have any amazing art moments that the Internet made possible? Please share them in the comments!
Big win, Big miracle. Well, I want to start by thank you Cory and Melissa for all the support and for putting together the abundant artists community. About a month ago i turned on my computer and I of course I started by going through my e-mails. There it was, the big miracle was an e-mail waiting for me from a publisher asking me to work for them. Now some people might say okay well this is too good to be true and of course that was my first thought, but after reading the e-mail it was not spam it was real. So I replied to the publisher and told him I was very interested.
I have been working and getting paid since. I earn an average of $500 dollars per week, and then 5 percent royalty.
Now I thank God for the internet!
Congratulations Renee! That’s awesome. I’d love to hear more about the details.