(Opinion)
By Kayla Minor
In your opinion, how is art meant to be experienced? In-person, online, or in books? At a museum, in one’s home, or out on the streets? Alone or with a crowd? As technology advances the argument lies, ‘Is the Digital Era of Art Ruining the Experience of Traditional Art?’
There are both pros and cons to our exploration of the Digital art world.
One reason why someone may think that digital art is better is because of how convenient it is. Devices are smaller and handier and are now designed to fit in a backpack or handbag. Carrying around an easel or many other supplies can be a logistical nightmare compared to the portability of a laptop or tablet. With the convenience comes better accessibility, some artists may already own a touchscreen device that allows them to continuously create art.
An opposing argument can mention the physical connection with mediums, you’re not working with a touch screen or mouse, you’re getting the full tactile experience, the smells, the sounds, and the space in which you work.
There is a physical connection between you and your art. When creating a traditional art piece, you give more originality to it. In doing so you can see how YOU as an artist works compared to the confinements of a tablet.
Digital art is much more forgiving to artists when mistakes are made since they can simply undo and give it another go when mistakes happen.
When creating art digitally it’s made to look cleaner or clearer because of how forgiving it is, and how mistakes cease to exist. Creating big pieces is smoother because of the lack of traditional tools and errors.
When working with traditional art although it’s not as forgiving, it makes a painting all the more imperfect. Imperfections are not always “bad”. Sometimes having mistakes shows the hard work or the originality of the piece. The accidental smudge of paint or charcoal can in the end make something more of your original goal on the canvas. Moreover, those imperfections and unintended strokes are what make traditional art so beautiful and unique – they give each piece a sense of exclusivity.
Jumping into the digital world, you get to explore a bit more with techniques that aren’t true to traditional art. It may not be “hands-on” but you're still learning new things you can’t do on a canvas physically. It opens so many opportunities for artists and has expanded the number of techniques artists can access. Artists can now “paint” on an iPad just as well as they can on canvas with a paintbrush and paint.
While digital art offers the convenience of easily undoing mistakes, creating a high-quality digital piece still requires a significant amount of skill, experience, and knowledge. Digital art can be just as complex as traditional art, with intricate digital illustrations often taking hours or even days to complete.
Traditional art has been around for centuries and will continue to thrive despite the growing popularity of digital methods. Rather than replacing each other, the two mediums have found a way to coexist. Art history shows us that when new techniques emerge, older ones don’t disappear but continue to be valued and celebrated.
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