DEBATABLE: DIGITAL AGE

There is a lot of controversy over the seemingly super speed jump artists are making into the Digital Age. Artists who could be strong in the traditional arts methods are now jumping right into being graphic designers. 
Why? 
Well for one, people now are very impatient and not willing to put a few months into a masterpiece painting, they'd rather take a few hours or days to complete something. This takes a lot of the handiwork out of a piece. People now would pay more for a painting than a poster wouldn't they? But companies would rather have things done fast, so that leaves the artwork less personalized. 
Two, jobs are more available to people who can easily create a pamphlet that can be easily copied and distributed than make pot. Going back to the fact that we're impatient, people like things to be done and how they like now. No wasting time. When I was deciding which major I wanted to be Graphic Design or Studio Art. I didn't want to have to pick, but I ended up with Studio Art because of the process and the intimacy of creating a piece. Yes, when you finish a painting there is such a tie between pride and hatred for it. But that is only because you struggled with it and you babied it into what it finally became. I knew going into Studio Art that I wouldn't have as many job options, so, like many other students, I took digital classes as well like Digital Photography and Intro to Graphic Design. That way I am slightly ambidextrous in the art world. The basic art principles are there, it's just the process that differs.
Three, kids now aren't learned cursive so their basic hand mechanics aren't going to be able to create beautiful brushstrokes. I've heard this from many people that kids are now taking typing courses instead of cursive. I don't really understand the thought process behind it because both skills seem very important to me even if you never use cursive ever again after 4th grade. It seems obvious, but our handwriting plays a part in how we'd draw a line in a gesture drawing. Consider the fabulous movement in figures and lines in this Rubens:

Rubens, The Calydonian Boar Hunt, 1611, oil on panel

(http://www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/artObjectDetails?artobj=267599)
How are kids going to be able to paint a perfect new age replica of a Rubens? They won't. But they might be able to recreate a digital copy of it, or print out a copy on a 3D printer. Which seems like such a shame and like cheating in the art world. But if you are a traditional artist, then the value of your work will skyrocket and the Rubens will be worth a ton more. 

I'm not hating on the digital age. I love some of the innovation that we have been able to create. We just need to find a way to keep the more traditional arts as well, so that we don't become a lost artifact. What do you think? Keep moving forward and forget the past? Or keep trying to combine the two into beautiful 

DEBATABLE: SKETCHBOOKS

From my experience, teachers of art classes try to ingrain in their students that having a sketchbook is necessary and crucial to success. Having a sketchbook on you at all times = success in the art world. I understand how this works because there have been times where I am about to fall asleep and had a great idea to write down or sketch out and my sketchbook is down by the TV. But then again I know many people who don’t use any sort of a sketchbook and don’t write anything down. Now these people are still successful so can we really relate that back to whether or not they use a sketchbook? 

Yes I agree, it depends upon the person. I am very forgetful so I have my sketchbook at hand (almost) all the time. But then again, I rarely draw in my sketchbooks instead, I write things out. Like I said in my mini bio, it helps me understand things better and I visualize everything in my head so a small detailed description is all I need to remember.

Some people use their sketchbooks as if they are their brains, scribbling everything down and constantly doodling mini masterpieces. I honestly wish I could be one of those artists. But are these people always going to be more successful than people who just write words down or people that don’t even own a sketchbook? 

Let’s look at some examples.

-Claude Monet used his sketchbooks to draw, often times whatever surrounded him or inspired him. http://www.clarkart.edu/exhibitions/monet/sketchbooks/

-Mexican director Guillermo Del Torro uses his sketchbooks for mainly writing things down but he also includes some sketches

http://flavorwire.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/sketchbook11.png

(For further pictures of famous artists sketchbooks heres a good group I found this interesting post: http://flavorwire.com/232810/inside-the-sketchbooks-of-famous-artists)

I guess it comes down to personal preference. My boyfriend is very successful at his art but because his work is all electronic he finds that he doesn’t need to write anything down. In my opinion, he should still write down the process and therefore he can easily duplicate processes or fix them down the road. But, for him, it works.

What do you guys think?