Isabelle: The Meaning of Life is.... (read more to find out!)

I don't think that there has been a shift in how new art emerges with the rise of the 21st century, however I think that the growing popularity of the internet has simply added a new dimension into how art emerges. Obviously, there is a strict sense of traditionalism in the art like what was described in "The Painted Word," and traditional artists will strive to fit into that process, however I think that the internet has contributed to a new type of artist, and from there, a new way to show and share art. The traditional process is more targeted to people in the art world - those who know a lot about art history and collecting art, the people who go to  every gallery and museum they can find to find a new artist or work. This new process, however, is for the common people, those who appreciate art, but see the process of finding art as a hobby, not as an investment. Now artists choose their audience, should they target the big-ticket art collectors or the common people. The question is now, share on the internet or focus on getting work into galleries? 

One of the topics we discussed last class was the issue of creating a piece to be sold once for a lot of money vs. creating a piece for many people to buy for much less, and I think that this is the divide between the new artist vs. traditional artists. The new artist is more about commercializing art, and creating something that will appeal to a greater spread of people. These artists are less likely to take risks, and play to what they know is safe and accepted within their style. Traditional artists may settle into this point, where they create what they know will have commercial value based off of what they've sold in the past, but the initial works they create is more complex and risky. The main way I can illustrate this divide is the site, Society6. It emerged as an online marketplace where artists could sell their work (usually at a low cost), and society6 would produce and distribute the prints (or tapestries, canvases, iphone cases, etc.). It was a great way for artists to show and sell their artwork without having to deal with the production side of things, so it allowed artists to get their work out to more types of people, but it grew to become a place for people to create to sell on the site, not as a happy addition in the process of burgeoning artists. I've browsed society6 quite a bit for several years now and I've witnessed this change, While you may find some pieces of work that you could classify as "good art," most things on the site are simply pretty - made to sell, with little inspiration behind them. This isn't the type of art you would see in a gallery, simply because it was not produced for that type of treatment.

I think this ties easily into the topic of success, as these two types can be characterized by their apparent goals for success. The new artist aims more for money, but with little fame, while the traditional artist seeks fame and notoriety, with money acting as a secondary benefit. Success is always personally defined, so artists really find a method that suits their definition of success. 

To me, success is being content with what I'm doing, and motivated by it. I can't just be happy doing something, without the motivation, I get bored, so I need a place to go, a new mission or project or idea to pursue, so for me, I'll be successful when I'm happy without having to settle.

The meaning of life is kittens 

I like Ciaran's idea of pitting the class each other in a would you rather battle