Week 2: Claudia E. Zapata

 

Taking “Chicanx Graphics in the Digital Age” by Claudia Zapata in mind, do you think digital art will one day replace the need for more traditional art? Explain why or why not.

    I don’t believe that more traditional art will ever be replaced. In fact, I feel like digital art has improved the relationship between artist and audience. It has provided a platform in which artists can spread their message in high volumes at a very low cost.The accessibility of digitized art is especially important to consider in regard to the Chicano/a movement. The message must remain the same while being able to spread as much as it can.One can consider the artist Julio Salgado, who is mentioned in the reading as using “ blogs or weblogs to make visible previously unseen immigrants”. His ideas are very traditional conceptually, but the way he expresses his ideas on these injustices is digitalized, making it more accessible for other people to see this information and in a way, help them understand it through this experience. Not only that, but digital art has served as an aid, and has also been incorporated into more traditional forms of art. For example, in the reading, the author describes how  in 1997, Garcia developed Glass houses. Glass houses is an online website featuring digitized family photographs in which “ the site functions as a guided tour of the artist’s personal history and memories where users are invited to explore..by clicking”. This example really stood out to me because not only is it an innovative way for the artist to put out something very personal (which can otherwise be very intimating), but it mimics the idea of an exhibition. Most importantly, it does so in a way that’s extremely accessible. In this example, the traditional aspect of art in itself remains, but the execution is digitized (which is where we get this unique mix). I stress this accessibility because I feel it’s something we take for granted. This is something I have especially learned because of  current events and the rise of Covid-19.It has made me realize how much technology can have an impact on society and keeping us connected.