There is a connection between developing ideas and the creation of artworks. Media also plays a role in this process because people today cannot function without the influence of media. These spheres are interconnected and interrelated because of the fact that people live in ‘global village’ as Marshall McLuhan stated. Media plays a role in improvement of ideas because of its omnipresence and it has impact on people’s minds and on the process of creation. The fact that medium is the message, as McLuhan stated, supports the viewpoint that media is the extension of man and so is artwork.
Sensibility is an important aspect of art because artists need to be able to perceive the world around them in the right way in order to get enough stimuli to create artworks. Schiller said that “the most pressing need of the present time is to educate the sensibility, because it is the means, not only to render efficacious in practice the improvement of ideas, but to call this improvement into existence” (Schiller 12). A person needs to educate sensibility because it is the way of drawing inspiration from the world. Artists are always trying to capture the spirit of their time in their artwork and their understanding of the world around them serves as the testimony of their experience on earth. In present time, media has much influence on the human life and it is an inevitable source of information. Media shapes people’s opinions, which is why its power is used by people who work in politics, economics as well as in the domain of art since the medium can be considered as artwork as well under the specific circumstances where artists try to support the trends in the society.
Art mimics life and that is why artists are more influential than it is generally perceived. Moreover, the popularity of an artist can be measured by their presence in the media. The coverage in the media is a good way of determining an artist’s influence in the public. Sometimes, the audience does not here about the work of an artist prior to their exposure on television and in magazines for example. People seek for information all the time and the content which makes the news is the one that becomes the most influential. Artists also form their opinion about the world in accordance with the messages they get from the media. The process is interrelated because the media has impact on the forming of ideas, while the finalized artwork has impact on media. Therefore, people have created media, but they also depend on it. Humans are the carriers of the message and the medium is the message which is why artwork, ideas and media constitute a unity. The process of making art is creative and ideas are essential to this process. Ideas depend on education and on sensibility to perceive the cultural input. There is no creation without the initial ideas and ideas are related to media through sensibility. The artist is the person who describes the world as they see it and that is why the education in sensibility becomes necessary. Artworks are tangible expressions of artists’ ideas which are shaped by their view of the world. Media shapes that world all the time and the process of understanding art is related to the understanding of the world and the way it functions as well. Education is important for developing critical thinking skills and for developing the ways of evaluating the content of media. Ideas come from the outside world and they are expressed through artwork by artists. Artwork is the medium as well and ideas are crucial for developing any kind of work in art. It is possible to show one’s understanding of life through art and sensibility is essential for grasping the ideas and the mysterious ways of life.
Beauty is at the core of art and every idea starts with this notion and the final result is the artwork as the self-expression of the artist who is often a medium for expressing deeper truths about the Universe. Schiller says: “my ideas, drawn rather from within than from reading of from an intimate experience with the world, will not disown their origin” (Schiller 2). It is the inner world related to one’s sensibility which makes the artists create and encourages them to reveal the truth about the world which is hidden. Providence guides skilled people through life and makes them equipped for sensing the world as it is which helps them get ideas. Artworks are results of these ideas and they are both the medium and the message. McLuhan says that: “societies have always been shaped more by the nature of the media by which men communicate than by the content of the communication” (McLuhan 8). Communication is an essential part of shaping ideas and forming public opinion which is why it is an important part of human existence. People communicate all the time and their purpose lies in expression. This is true for all the people who work in different spheres, not only in art, but it is mostly visible in art. The way people communicate is crucial for understanding the world as a place which shapes people and their artistic skills. Not all people have the talent to create artworks, but people who ae equipped with critical thinking skills may be able to understand various works of art. The audience has its place and importance in the world: “today, the mass audience (the successor to the “public”) can be used as a creative, participating force. It is, instead, merely given packages of passive entertainment” (McLuhan 22). Artists are also members of the public who are capable of creating content because they trained their sensibility towards understanding the modern world. People need to be able to understand action and art which calls for change as opposed to being served passive entertainment. Being passive does not help progress but the decline of the world and its aesthetic achievements. Art is the ultimate form of tackling the serious problems in a delicate manner which does not cause severe consequences. It is supposed to make people think and question the reality they live in which is shaped by the media.
Man must be capable of living in accordance with the rules of nature and to cultivate it at the same time. Schiller says: “The savage despises art, and acknowledges nature as his despotic ruler, the barbarian laughs at nature, and dishonors it, but he often proceeds in a more contemptible way than the savage, to be the slave of his senses” (Schiller 6). The artist listens to the nature and has a cultivated spirit which pays attention to the natural order while living in accordance with the modern time and the situation in the society. Senses are important, but they have to be educated for the improvement of ideas to happen. Media is the result of the atmosphere in the society and there is no person exempt from its influence. It is impossible to distance oneself from the means of mass communication and from the media. McLuhan says: “Too many people know too much about each other. Our new environment compels commitment and participation. We have become irrevocably involved with, and responsible for, each other” (McLuhan 24). In this sense, artworks are the result of this situation where people need to take part in shaping the public sphere. This is done through media and it is not recommendable for anybody to be a passive consumer.
I have been studying printmaking and there are different methods for expressing oneself in this kind of art. Albrecht Dürer is one of the most famous artists who used printmaking, especially engraving for creating art. He is an inspiration for future generations and in this sense the artworks serve as media for communication ideas though time. Printmaking is an exciting process because it requires a set of different skills such as carving and coloring. Matrix is the image which is created on wood, metal, stone, linoleum or aluminum. Afterwards, the print is transferred on another surface, mostly paper and each print is considered to be an impression and an original. This is a very creative way of making art because of its endless possibilities. Trying to understand the world though a unique lens is an imperative for presenting a valuable vision the artist has through their artwork.
Improvement of ideas is the effect of media and it can be expressed through printmaking because this form of art makes it possible for an artist to make numerous prints of the same matrix. This way, the ideas will reach wide audiences and make it possible for the artist to be heard. I was impressed by Salvador Dali’s illustration of Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri. He used the technique of wood engraving for these illustrations and they have been shown in museums all over the world. These works are often presented in media as well which is why they have impact on the society as a whole. Different art forms serve as inspiration for one another and literature serves as inspiration for artists who use printmaking as an art form. It is important to be good at drawing to be able to engage in the process of printmaking, but once the artist gets used to this technique, they can show their originality in numerous ways. Media influences the topics that artists use when developing ideas for their artworks. McLuhan says: “The medium is the massage. Any understanding of social and cultural change is impossible without a knowledge of the way media work as environments. All media are extensions of some human faculty – psychic or physical” (McLuhan 26). Since media serve as extensions of human work, it is impossible for a person not to be affected by the media and its content. The modern society is shaped by media and by means of communication which are constantly improved. People had to write letters in order to communicate with each other in the past. Today, they can use their cell phones and reach their friends immediately. The process of communication has become faster and more efficient and its influence can be seen in art as well. Modern artists rarely spend as much time on creating artwork as their predecessors because new forms of art can be created in much less time. The works of old masters such as Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Dürer, Vermeer or Raphael describe the world as it was when they were creating. Artists change with time because of the fact that they are supposed to follow the trends set in the society.
A person has to work continually on themselves and to strive for constant improvement so that progress could be possible. Schiller poses a good question: “Subject to the influence of a social constitution still barbarous, how can character become ennobled?” (Schiller 12). People have to start thinking critically about everything and to work on developing their own opinion about all aspect of life. The public sphere is the place for communication and for the exchange of opinions. All of this influences the media and the media also shapes ideas. McLuhan says: “Media, by altering the environment, evoke in us unique ratios of sense perceptions. The extension of any one sense alters the way we think and act – the way we perceive the world” (McLuhan 41). With the change of rations comes the change of people and that is how media plays a role in the improvement of ideas. The process is two-way because people can initiate the change in the media as well. Artworks are the result of the ideas which stem from the current affairs in the society. However, art is not in the domain of reason, but in the domain of freedom. The nature of art is spiritual and not materialistic because art is supposed to have impact on the souls of people and not to generate profit even though there are masterpieces which are priceless. These belong to the public domain and anybody can admire them in museum. On one hand there are museums and on the other hand, there are current means of mass communication and the media. Both of these have influence on the development of ideas and on creating artworks.
Sculpture is another art form which reflects the influence of media on the improvement of ideas. Sculptors often express their perception of the world through shaping various materials. The change in the perception of beauty through time can be seen by comparing sculptures from different periods. The sculptures of ancient Greece and Rome depicted the ideals of beauty of the time and embodied the political and economic situation of the time. This belongs to the sphere of the media today and these topics were public even in ancient times. News and current trends always had impact on art, but it is now more visible because of the world becoming more connected with the development of the means of communication. Aesthetics is an important area of everyday life and it has its part in the sphere of media as well. Progress in the world can be measured with progress in art and the decline in the society happens when it stops nurturing the spiritual side. Living in the materialistic world should not make people forget about nature and about spirituality. Current stage in civilization has reached the point where people are reminded of the values of world cultural heritage. It seems that everything has already been said and that all of the stories have been told, but the truth is that everything can be retold in a new way. It is not about the content, it is about the medium. Both modernity and tradition coexist in the world today and people do not have to make a choice between styles because they can use that which pleases their senses and helps them tell their story.
Media is omnipresent in the world and it shapes life in the 21st century because of its influence. Modern man is surrounded by the world of multi-media and media products in which it is hard to understand the essence of the media content. Citizens need to be informed about the way media culture works in the materialistic world. If people are not capable of understanding the messages they get from media, they will be easy to manipulate and accept the values and role models suggested in the media. The passive attitude of the audience is unacceptable because media influence the system of values and the children and adolescents are the vulnerable population. The development of critical attitude towards media content is the first step which young people need to make in order to adopt positive role models. Adopting a critical distance towards the dominant media and media influencers is essential for forming taste and ethical criteria among young people. All of this should result in turning towards the true values.
It is important for the society to recognize talent, creativity and education and to make place for these values in the media. This would lead to the creation of the society which values knowledge and individuals who are the voices of their generation. Media can be dangerous as well if a person does not rely on their system of values. It is unacceptable for indoctrination to take place in the public domain. Every person needs to have the freedom of choice to make their own decisions and to create their individual patterns of behavior. Individuality is the key to becoming a good artist and to creating artworks which can have impact on generations to come. The education of sensibility is important because it has influence on the development of ideas. Responding to the stimuli that come from the public sphere through art is the influence of media.
Art is the product of creation and people use different artworks for aesthetic pleasure and for education. The definition of art is broad and art is everything that people classify as such. Even though it is hard to define art, it is certain that it involves the existence of an artwork, which it is presented to the public and that is becomes the subject of communication. It is used for pleasure, socialization and fun, but also for education since it encourages mental stimulation. Art is expressive and has a context which depends on the period of time in which it is created. Culture and civilization leave trace through artworks and these works are the legacy of a specific time. There are periods in which artists are more productive and this happens during times of prosperity in the society. Wars and crises can have a negative impact on the productivity and creativity. However, there are artworks from all periods of time, from cave paintings until modern art installations. There are many forms of art which is the result of the influence of media and of the greater number of people who wish to express themselves through art. Media influences the ideas and the artworks are the products of the ideas. Educating sensibility also includes being critical towards the media content and developing ideas which are worthy of entering the realm of art.
Works Cited
Schiller, Friedrich. "Letters Upon The Aesthetic Education of Man." public-library.uk. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Aug. 2016. <http://public-library.uk/ebooks/55/76.pdf>.
McLuhan, Marshall. The Medium is the Massage. San Francisco: HardWired, 1996. Print.
