Convergent Media - Stretching the Imagination

Regular readers here know I also am a frequent guest blogger on Absolute Arts, one of the most frequently visited fine art sites on the Internet. A previous post there titled Brave New Digital World by Brad Michael Moore, prompted my subsequent post there.

Brad had these things to say:

As a Digital Artifact Artist - born just passing the golden age of photography, I will offer to you here, a intricate definition (part theory, some elements - tongue in cheek) of where I have arrived as an artist, and why I think I am here.

Today, I challenge those old assumptions about reproduced art. I hold my strongest belief; that it should be the artist's prerogative, as to what standard they choose to create by. If one artist decides each print must be exactly alike, in every way, with it's literal counterparts - then that is a part of that's artist's identity - to create a digital file, and never change it, never improve it - never consider if you yourself grow from day to day as an artist... If an artist chooses, like I choose, to make each and every artwork unique - no matter how many times it is printed - then that is part of my identity - my freedom, and my creative prerogative. I believe everyday I am a newer person, with a greater knowledge - based on the experience of everyday efforts to improve myself as artist and human.

Those words inspired me to resurrect a suggestion I made about year ago. The title of my most recent Absolute Arts post is Has the Time Come for Convergent Media? This is probably a good idea anyway insofar as most often it takes repeated exposure to ideas for them to take seed.

My suggestion is to use Convergent Media to describe the evolving art form that has been called digital art for lack of a better term. I felt when I made the initial suggestion the process deserved a better descriptor.

While digital art is serviceable to a degree, it is limited in its abililty to accurately convey the medium. And, it carries with it some negative connotation as being machine made, or that somehow the hand and eye of the artist are more removed than from traditional art on paper or canvas. Those who are involved know this is far from the truth.

Art Stretches the Imagination

If you read the Absolute Arts post, you'll find me waxing artists' work portends the future. I speculate since Convergent Media employs blending a wide range of influences, techniques and technologies, it is a metaphor for how artists on a global level will help us understand the importance of transcending national interests for the betterment of global citizens.  It is an admitted bit of a stretch, but that is what art is capable of doing, stretching our imagination.