Development of Media Art Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Development of Media Art - Dissertation Example Historical Aspects: According to Benjamin (1986) "technology transforms the entire nature of art", and the same can be witnessed throughout the past centuries, where the art form gradually developed from paintings, to print, to videos and finally to digital arts in recent times. It is on account of these changes, that the field of media art today; has transformed significantly, to include diverse practices used by the artists eventually translating into a wider audience and markets. The history and evolution of media arts is described in four key phases i.e. the era of films during the early 20th century; the invention of video and its impact on arts during the early nineteenth century; the beginning of the media arts movement during the late nineteenth century; finally culminating into the current trend - that of invention and development of digital media triggered by the technological revolution during the late nineteenth century. Films during the early nineteenth century could mai nly be categorized into two distinct categories i.e. those which catered to the commercial aspects and followed the narrative style and those which were experimental or 'short films'. The innovation in the field of media arts during this era was mainly with regard to the use of sounds, and other artistic techniques such as use of special effects such as slow motions, or close-ups as well as the ability to edit the films. These techniques were mainly followed for both narrative as well as experimental films. According to Renan (1967) most of the films developed during this period were 'experimental' in nature, which explored subjects and themes which were highly controversial. This eventually gave rise to the documentary film making, which was dominant during this era. The next phase i.e. during the 1960s was marked by the advent of video, within the arena of media arts, which was further fuelled by the invention of television and broadcasting technologies (Vogel, 1998). However sinc e these inventions were relatively new, the cost of producing and implementing such technologies was relatively higher and hence it restricted the open and liberal use of this form of media by the artists (Rush, 2001; Hanhardt, 2000). However, the scenario changed drastically over the years, and the art form gradually expanded to include a wider variety of media arts (Furlong, 1983; D'Agostino, 1985). These new developments brought about a new and fresh wave of changes in the field of media arts leading to the influx of new artists who excelled in the art form, and ultimately changed the existing and conventional media practices adopted by artists during those times. The subsequent years i.e. the years between 1960 and 1970 saw another significant wave of change, which culminated into the launch of the Media Arts Movement, whereby the pioneers of the industry realized the need for change in the manner in which the current media was functioning especially with regard to the projectio n of issues concerning third world countries, and strived to bring about relevant and effective changes. This was the era which was dominated by an ideology whereby media was perceived and practiced as a predominantly artistic form rather than acknowledging its commercial aspect, which was largely ignored. Eventually towards the end of this decade, the prices of the film