How Multimedia Has Changed the Face of Artistic Expression

As veterans of the 1990s and a courageous survivors of Y2K, our generation of electronic connoisseurs has been able to carve its own unique dimension in two-dimensional art. By replacing haggard paintbrushes with electronic drawing pads, 30-millimeter film rolls with digital memory chips, and hundreds of extras with identical computer generated people, we as artists have revolutionized the way creativity can be expressed. Instant gratification provided by high speed internet and nearly flawless computer programs is, in my opinion, the number one most influential aspect of this revolution. As we discussed in class concerning the tweaked Apple commercial into a Barak Obama spot, the simple manipulation of the image was able to invade the sphere of online political commentary almost instantaneously. Where notorious caricaturists used to mock their presidents outright in publications, often feeling the repercussions in the form of jail time, today anyone with photoshop and a steady hand can desecrate a political figurehead to their liking, and get away with it.
This is not to say that any integrity of formal two dimensional art has been diminished. In fact, I esteem the manual effort put into artwork, like prints, hand developed photographs, paintings, etc. much more than computer generated works. The emotional process and perfection of a piece of art is seriously degraded by the use of computers, that is, for everyone but the very first publisher of that image or code to a computer. Yet, this ability to infinitely diffuse a personal image on the Internet is difficult to criticize.
Regarding the social implications of digital media, I wholeheartedly respect the newly widespread availability of art to the many who may never get a chance to stroll through the Louvre or the Guggenheim. The proliferation of artistic forms via the Internet and electronics is the only way that the art world can keep up with our digitalizing society. Unfortunately for artists of this medium, there much anonymity and depreciation to face. Another scourge of the instant gratification craze is the fact that the viewers of digital media, especially on the Internet, are not forced to understand the motivation, context, idea, etc. of a piece, perhaps not even the name attributed. But the acceptance of these facts and many other apparencies of this developing type of digital art is but a reflection on the changing world we live in.