Introduction
The Importance of Artists, Designers and Public Exhibitions
“The artist is a receptacle for emotions that come from all over the place: from the sky, from the earth, from a scrap of paper, from a passing shape, from a spider's web”, Pablo Picasso
“Art has to move you and design does not, unless it's a good design for a bus”, David Hockney
Art Expo
According to tradition, an art exhibition is where audiences meet works of art that are themselves a form of exposition. In the past, such exhibitions have been static and for a particular time period and therefore had to be viewed by visitors within that time frame. They have also been mainly works of art such as pictures and drawings, sculptures, or installation art which contained various object components.
Community
Such exhibitions offer the opportunity for artists to display their work to a community. Many people visit art galleries in order to share the work of the artists in a communal setting. At the same time, the role of the gallery and exhibition is evolving and is taking on new dimensions and novel extensions, as well as new kinds of content.
New Media
With the rise of new media and digital art forms there has been increasing scope for a wider variety of art objects, particular those that are able to interact with audiences. Such interactions may change the art work, or the perspective of the viewer, or both. In addition, time-based media such as video may be used in exhibitions either in free-standing mode, or be able to receive input from viewers to change the content of the video being displayed.
Virtual Communities
This raises the concept of exhibitions which both change over time resulting from interactions with audiences, and which may no longer be constrained to a particular fixed time period. In particular, a virtual exhibition can be open to global audiences which can result in a sharing of cultural and ethical experiences across national and international boundaries. This introduces the concept of exhibition spaces that are borderless with respect to time, space, and audiences.
New Horizons
Any artist who wishes to exhibit their work in this rapidly changing environment faces two principal challenges. The first is to demonstrate the relevance of the art to today’s audiences and the rapidly changing environment. The second is to articulate forms of art which are capable of transcending the boundaries of past traditions and demonstrate new horizons and new opportunities.
New forms of Communication
A conference such as ITA2015 offers the opportunity to showcase modern works of art in the context of a state of the art conference on communication technologies. This represents an important occasion for artists. It allows them to exhibit to an international audience and it enables experts in modern communications to see the ways in which art is able to transcend the traditional, and provide insights into new ways of thinking, perceiving, and communicating. We thank all the artists for rising to this important challenge.
Bibliography
“The Value of Arts and Culture to People and Society: An Evidence Review”, The Arts Council, 2014
“Why Art Galleries are Important”, J. Landry, 2013
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jason-landry/why-galleries-are-importa_b_4074202.html
“The Evolving Role of the Exhibition and its Impact on Art and Culture”, A. C. Cline, 2012
http://digitalrepository.trincoll.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1275&context=theses
“What should the role of the Public Art Gallery be?” D. Kelly, 2008
http://www.threemonkeysonline.com/what-should-the-role-of-the-public-art-gallery-be/
“New Directions for Art Galleries and Museums”, M. Axelsen, C Arcodia, 2004
http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/uq:9960/ma_ca_nd.pdf
“The Making of Exhibitions: Purpose, Structure, Roles and Process”, Smithsonian Institution, 2002
http://www.si.edu/Content/opanda/docs/Rpts2002/02.10.MakingExhibitions.Final.pdf
“Art Exhibition”, Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_exhibition
Rae Earnshaw
Professor of Creative Industries
Glyndwr University