Quote - ...I think it is revolutionary tthat we now have tools that allow anyone (with or without art education) to express his/herself and create decent art that can be shown in an art gallery.

In short, software is a great equalizer that empowers people to create professional looking art, while before, without the software this would have led to embarassing results.

Laslo

 

Not sure I agree with you there, my friend. Any medium is capable of giving professional looking results, in the hands of talented people, which can then be given a prideful place in an exhibition. Equally, all the training in the world can still lead you to trot out soulless crap that has no merit whatsoever, if you lack the spark. Training is a useful tool in itself, and often allows you to network in the circles where you can get your foot in the door at the more prestigious galleries and venues, but I'm not sure it's possible to take someone who barely knows how to hold a pencil, and give them enough training that they're turning out masterpieces.

I'm kinda coming at this from a different angle, though related. I'm an actor/director, who completed his Theatre degree 18 months back and is now struggling to set up his own horror theatre company (but this isn't the space to talk about that in any detail!!) During my degree, I also did some work with local amateur companies, with people who had never stepped inside a drama class or arts college in their lives. On both sides, I saw hopeless ineptitude, shockingly overinflated egos, and genuine talent shining through. The key difference for me is that, having completed the degree, I have a network of other artists I can work with, some idea of how to approach venues to get my work shown and seen by an audience, and the balls to believe that people might be interested in what I have to offer! The ability, the talent, and the dedication to my craft were there before I went into college: they may have been honed through the practice I got there, and occasionally guided by advice from tutors, but they didn't come from nowhere.

So I don't think we 'now' have tools that will give anyone from any background the opportunity to produce outstanding work - those tools were always there. What we have now, in a similar way to what we had just over a century ago with the birth of photography, is a new medium of art, allowing people who didn't feel comfortable with other media the chance to try and express themselves from a different direction.

But that's just me - and I've been wrong before! :)

jonthecelt