In a future dominated by liberalism, will there be a place for tradition? Let’s dig into the concepts of “True Art” and “Progressive Climate” and how both concepts intersect.
Before we start looking at the value of true art and how the progressive climate changes it, let’s first understand what “progressive climate” means.
Now-now, by progressive climate I am not referring to the weather but rather the whole idea of liberalism flowing through every mind-set today. When I say progressive climate in relation to “art”, I refer to those pieces that focus on modern day socio-economic problems, environmental issues, gender equality, Racism and diversity, mental health, evolution and rationalism, among others, since they bring out real meaning, something everyone can find, feel and relate to.
Now, by saying this I do not mean to downgrade True Art either. Every piece that is classified as “True Art” allows you to connect to your tradition, your culture, your heritage. It even allows you to know the ‘what’ and ‘how’ about a certain concept of a certain time.
So before we take a look at their appeal to society, let’s take a few example pieces, some art styles, along with some poetry.
Art piece inspired by tradition
The Radha Krishna painting by Swati Jain
This Painting comes from indian tradition and depicts Lord Krishna (indian deity) dancing/talking with the love of his life, Radha. The painting shows a very accurate portrayal judging by the way Lord Krishna is described in countless important religious books. The color theory is quite simple yet enough. The background behind shows a wall made of Chakras. Lord Krishna is shown to be holding his flute and Radha holding a flower. On the top we can see a number of colourful birds which are basically a way to make them look similar to the peacock wing Lord Krishna wears on his head.
This picture doesn’t hint any deeper messages but rather a simple scenario of what it would look like when they would spend time together. This is enough for the painting to have some religious value.
Art piece depicting progression
Between The Margins by Toyin Ojih Odutola
Toyin Ojih Odutola uses a ballpoint pen to create this piece. The artist questions the geopolitical and social significance of skin colour in our everyday lives. The picture depicts an African American boy, hiding in the grass, with a few flowers covering his face. He seems to be wearing a school uniform and wonders how he got into a school in the first place.
This shows that the story here takes place during the 1960’s civil-rights movement. While the boy wonders what makes him belong there, the artist asks the question on why a person’s skin should decide where they belong.
Now that we know what they are about, let’s take a look at a few art styles
A list of fine-arts
Manjusha paintings
Manjusha painting is an old and folk Indian art form. These art forms represent stories in the form of paintings. Manjusha paintings are believed to be the only art form which has a sequential representation of a story. It mostly depicts the stories from the hindu religion.
Puppetry
The earliest puppets originated in Egypt around 422 B.C.E. Puppets are dummies whose movements are handled through nine strings. Puppetry is a very hard art form. The skill set needed for the job is: Extreme dexterity, practised ventriloquism and storytelling skill. Puppetry in early roman age was used to animate and propagate ideas and the needs of a society.
Terracotta art
Terracotta has been used since ancient history, in Chinese Pottery (from 10,000 BCE)
Terracotta is normally used for making sculptures. It is made in earthenware, and is also used for various practical uses like vessels and water pipes.
A list of progressive art styles:
3-D printing
3-D printing is a very probable art-form in the near future. Chuck hull made the first ever 3-D printer in 1983. 3-D printers allow you to print three-dimensional objects. It is less time consuming. It is the perfect machine for creative engineers and effective problem solvers. It improves the users designing and creative skills. Acumens result and consulting agency predicts the 3-D printing market to reach up to 41 billion by 2026. 3-D printers range from 300$-1000$.
Digital graffiti
Graffiti are drawings and words scribbled in a public place. Digital graffiti is similar but is done with help of computer vision technology. It was motivated by the 2008 New York graffiti movement. Many big organisations and companies like Graffiti Research lab have invested in this art. The first digital graffiti wall was made by Luma, called the YrWall.
Nanoart
Nanoart is an art concerning science and technology. Nanoart includes pinching out the object at nanometre scale, and adding artistic touch to it. The electron microscope is the only equipment needed for this art. Jonty Hervitz is one of the artists of this art. His work Trust holds the Guinness world record for the smallest sculpture in the world.
Now that we know a few art styles we should know how they appeal to the public. When it comes to art, it’s not just the appearance that matters. Let’s take a look:
- Money: every piece has its value based on religion, philosophy, historical value, etc. Even the message of the artwork defines how much the piece costs. A Vincent Van Gogh painting costs from about 80 million USD to 111 million Dollars. I mean, if a banana attached to a canvas with duct tape can be sold for 120,000 USD, then personally I wouldn’t be surprised.
- Appearance: I said it’s not just about the looks. The appearance of the piece matters a lot. If you compare the Mona Lisa to an abstract painting, you can see that a large amount of audience would like the Mona Lisa as the painting *shows* a high level of Artistic skills as compared to an abstract painting. When it comes to Digital graffiti’s or 3-D printing, it’s appearance attracts people on the color theory or the model made.
- The Message: I think so far we know that the message matters a lot. I cannot stress this enough. Every hidden meaning, message, and propaganda matters.
Judging by what the new generation clearly prefers, it’s clear that TrueArt does not have a consistent and bright future. With more attractive technology, tradition and culture are forgotten day by day and now it is in our hands to give them equal importance.
Most of the fine arts originates from rural areas so it’s best that we find new ways to broadcast and promote fine arts in rural towns. Social media is a huge platform and with enough people to support us, culture can still exist without interfering with technological advancements. Hopefully there is still a way to express the urge of progressive climate through art.
