February 1, 2009 (32/365)

I was thinking today how the internet has changed people's access to the various arts (visual arts, sculptural arts, music, etc.). Not many years ago the world didn't realize how many creative people there really were in the world. Musical exposure was almost entirely via radio and CDs; movies via theaters and DVDs; visual arts via magazines; sculptural arts via galleries. Specific people/groups in control of these industries decided what we would be exposed to and essentially covering up the existence of all others with talent who they deemed unworthy.

The internet really has changed all that, and I can see why the old guard is terrified of it. The 'net is the ultimate playing field leveler. Because of it we can each decide for ourselves (not someone else for us) what is "good enough" for us. Because of it, 95% of the music I now listen to is non-mainstream. I scour the world for hours a day looking at art and graphic design that I would have never been exposed to otherwise. My artistic inspirations come more from people like Raymond Papka from Kentucky than the Louvre.

Still, the old guard control freaks are trying to control what we see and hear. Radio station programming has become tighter and more manufactured than ever; and while art galleries are always looking for that next big artist, it's only so they can package them, slap a label on them, and market them to the mainstream until their appeal wanes and they toss them aside. Radio stations remain in control of the airwaves; museums remain in control of mass-access to art. While I don't have the money to undertake it myself, I wish someone out there would look at the range of talent out there on the internet, not with fear but with a sense of opportunity, and welcome them into those rarified places of public exposure too. Someone should start a radio network whose programming is composed of music by all those independent artists that currently can only be found on the internet. A major gallery should be opened to show the works of non-mainstream artists. A television network should be started to show the film works of independent film makers. Etc.

We're almost there, but it's going to take some enterprising "new guard" to shake off the paralyzing fear and embrace the immense opportunity that's available out there.