The digital art era

WHAT does the word “beautiful” really mean?

Beautiful is often associated with an artwork, photograph, or anything that you may call “art,” which can look pleasing with a well-thought theme, complementing colors, and captivating layout, among others.

What dazes me is the exodus of a variety of executions—like installation art, performance art, and pop art—in the present era’s so-called “art” culture. But digital art is seemingly the most used art form today as it can be seen applied on most advertisements: Billboards, TV commercials, magazines and newspapers, and products. It is actually everywhere; from the time you eat breakfast, till you go to bed.

Every time I walk around and take photos at random in the city, I see plenty of posters from my viewfinder. Then I ask myself who the creators of those works were and what was their purpose of making those designs? Perhaps, those were made to persuade people to go to places or purchase particular local products. But I find it somehow awkward and irritating to see “models” do inept poses for business matters that sometimes only focus on aesthetics rather than concept.

Based on what I have observed, advertising companies usually hire employees who have knowledge of art and design and software usage more than those with creativity, talent, and passion, who can produce better works. Because of this incompetent hiring scheme of most establishments, eye-poking posters and other ads are just added in the substandard quality of art in this society,

Digital art in the Philippines is, evidently low-class compared to our neighbor countries like, Japan, Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia, as stealing foreign artists’ ideas is rampant here.

‘Thomasian art students should be equipped with necessary skills that the world outside the University demands.’

Further, local mainstream films have low-quality production designs, cinematography, visual effects, among others, compared to independent movies produced by students and freelance artists.

There are a lot of commendable talents hidden in small institutions doing work that do not meet the quality of the labor they offer. Employers must look for the right people to hire so as to prevent the decline of standards.

Digital art is eating us alive while it is tremendously growing fast. Thomasian art students should be equipped with necessary skills that the world outside the University demands. Students must cope with the demands of an industry that is highly competitive and continuously changing.

However, it is saddening that only a few professors are efficient enough to teach concept development and new media, and only focus on the basics that we have already learned by our own even before we enrolled in our course.

Digital Art is a very complex form of art that should be taught very well to students so that we would not land jobs we aren’t expected to be hired for. It is time that we take on the challenge of the postmodern world. The Philippines must stop trailing behind the shadows of other countries, which were brave enough to take on the hurdles of the continually growing technology and art forms.