We are surrounded by all sorts of technology. We wake up to alarms set on our smartphones, and then drive to work and use GPS to guide us. At our jobs, we log in to computers, send emails and write documents. On our personal time, we send each other texts, set DVRs and play games via our mobile devices. Often, this technology helps or entertains us, but sometimes, it mystifies us or may even make us victims. Yet, our days and nights are very much wired by tech.
As artists, we live in this same tech-laden world, yet many of us face additional challenges to the ones the rest of the culture is dealing with. Namely, most artists I know are after universal truths, in one form or another. In doing so, they tend to gravitate toward the more tried-and-true forms of communication and expression, ones that have existed for decades, or longer, and tend to avoid what they deem as fly-by-night or fleeting. Many artists I know tend to shun tech, or they have day jobs that are filled with tech, but engage with their art to avoid technology.
But I, as well as my colleagues at Professional Artist, don’t believe that technology is simply for The Big Bang Theory-type geeks, or is antithetical the artistic practice. At the very least, we need it to be professional — by generating bills to get paid, or using various programs to help us sell or market our work. But I believe there’s more to it than just that, and I do know this: There’s a vast, fascinating tech universe that will definitely be of interests to many of the artists who read of magazine. I’m hoping to show you some of that in my new column! So, join me by checking out the debut of State of the Art in the June/July issue of Professional Artist magazine, which hits stands in May.
Terry Sullivan is the former editor of Professional Artist magazine and the former technical editor at American Artist magazine. He currently is an editor at Consumer Reports, where he covers digital cameras, camcorders, smart phones, printers and digital imaging. He is also an artist and musician. Follow him on Twitter: @TerryCR.
