Once upon a time, art was represented by authors such as Michelangelo and Donatello who made their hands and talent available to recreate beauty. Today the concept of art has changed a lot and is increasingly inextricably linked to the world of virtual and digital. What do we mean, then, by digital art and what is its most contemporary expression? Here is some food for thought to understand its nature and how to cultivate its development.
What is contemporary digital art?
The main characteristic of digital art is that of being intangible. If, in fact, according to the classical concept of art, a masterpiece is something that has been sculpted, painted or assembled by hand and is in any case touchable, occupying a space in the void, digital art, on the other hand, is composed of pixels, its size is measured in pixels and bits, it can be manipulated but not touched.
Although not present on the physical plane, it is nevertheless viewable through the screen of a monitor. Precisely because of these characteristics, digital art is perfectly reproducible indefinitely as it can be copied through the use of special storage media. Another characteristic of digital art is that it has two or three dimensions (usually two since it is viewed through the screen) and is composed of numerical and mathematical values.
Indispensable for the creation of digital artwork is the use of special computer graphics programs. It follows that the value of digital art is not only given by the creativity of those who materially create it but also by the complexity of the program that is used, in fact, replaces the chisel and the brush, typical tools of classical art.
From all that has been said so far, it seems quite clear that digital art is a concept that has completely revolutionized the world of art as it has always been conceived up to now and has opened up new scenarios that until now were unimaginable both in terms of the market and its interpreters.
How to cultivate contemporary digital art
It is precisely this profound revolution that contemporary digital art has brought about that has also upset the tools used for its production. Digital art, in fact, is achievable exclusively through the support of increasingly specialized software that are the means of work for artists who are primarily experts in graphics and specific programs. The advent of smartphones has also profoundly affected the ways in which contemporary digital art is cultivated.
In fact, the creative urge and the desire to find new art languages and forms of expression has given impetus to the design and creation of numerous apps, i.e. applications for cell phones, that allow anyone to make their own art production. Obviously there is a big difference between those who produce digital art professionally and those who do it simply as a form of pastime.
The world of professional contemporary art needs more and more detailed and performing tools to create unique products of their kind even if infinitesimally reproducible, however the democratization of tools has certainly allowed art to break free from a concept of exclusivity and elite to become heritage of all and field of application of many. In this sense, the birth of contemporary digital art has helped to make the concept of art more democratic and, above all, inclusive.
The democratization of the places of contemporary digital art
The concept of art has changed, as have the tools used to produce it, and consequently the places where art is enjoyed have also changed. If before, in fact, museums and art galleries were the exclusive temple of culture and beauty, with the advent of contemporary digital art, the places of fruition and visibility of digital works of art have also multiplied.
Virtual galleries, online museums and specialized websites have become virtual marketplaces where everyone can make themselves known, both established authors and young artists seeking visibility. This process of democratization of art, however, should not mislead. In fact, as already happens in classical art, in digital art too only the most talented artists emerge and move forward, but are able to conquer larger and larger audiences thanks to the possibility of having access to a potentially infinite target of customers.
A final consideration should be made about the costs of digital art. Obviously, the infinite duplication of a contemporary digital artwork can only level down the single cost, but it also opens up infinite earning scenarios for artists who today can benefit from every duplication made.