Not So Long Ago
When I was a boy in the 1950’s attractive images were a rarity. I was 9 years old when I watched television for the first time. The grainy black and white images on a 17″ screen seemed amazing.
https://clickamericana.com/topics/science-technology/vintage-television-sets-from-the-1950s
http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/7167/photos/298497
https://www.collectorsweekly.com/cameras/overview/stories
https://filmartgallery.com/collections/gardner-ava
Newspapers showed blurry halftone black and white pictures. Good cameras were expensive and hard to use. The Kodak Brownie camera gave affordable but terrible photos and it took weeks to get the 12 snapshots printed. Many of the photos were too dark, too far away or too blurry.
LIFE was the only magazine where I could find wonderful pictures. The few coffee table books we owned provided my first look at famous works of art.
Going to a movie theatre (like the Palace in Calgary) was a special event. I loved to watch the projected images on the big screen.
Air travel was only for the upper classes so the visiting art galleries was not on our family’s holiday plans.
Being a visually oriented person, I hungered to see beautiful pictures. I could not foresee what the future would bring.
In the Candy Store
Compared to the 1950’s , today’s digital world is truly like night and day.
We now live in an ocean of colourful dynamic imagery. Millions of images are available anytime, anywhere on any topic. Our homes are full of beautiful prints, posters and photographs. We have computers, wide screen TV, ebooks, magazines all full of images.
My phone is stores a thousand or more photographs, which can be photoedited, cropped and distributed.
WIth Netflix, Crave, Facebook, Pinterest, Google, Instagram, Tumblr, etc. all kinds of imaginary and fantasy worlds are available to download and watch.
Having instant access to an unlimited quantity of colourful imagery is truly incredible. The ability to easily create high definition, photo-shopped photographs and to publish them to the world is equally astonishing.
It feels like I have gone to heaven! I can explore the world’s greatest art from galleries all over the world. I can look up any art genre and be inspired by humdreds of different artists. I can watch UTube videos and take online courses provided by hundreds of artists.
With the latest in computers graphics and animation software, new art forms are being created.
I saw DUNE https://filmyhotspot.com/dune-movie/ at an IMAX theatre and was overwhelmed by the scope, scenery, plot and the fantasy of it all. It was a wonderful visual experience.
The multi-media presentation “Beyond Van Gogh” came to Halifax https://vangoghhalifax.com/. It was a powerful and moving experience for me. The manner in which Vincent Van Gogh’s paintings were animated, projected onto huge screens and set to music amplified the emotional impact of his masterpieces.
Excess
Like the kid in the candy shop I am getting my fiill of treats. Will this lead to a tummy ache if I indulge too much?
This abundance of imagery may have negative consequences. We may succumb to the law of diminishing returns. The first viewing of an expressionist landscape may be breathtaking, but its value will diminish by repetitive viewing. Seeing the landscape printed on a coffee cup may trivialize it too much.
https://www.stashtea.com/products/van-gogh-starry-night-grande-mug-in-gift-box
I will comment on the negatives in a future post.
