Romanticism vs. Realism: Some Conclusions

There is little doubt that the photographers of the next century will function in an environment radically different for what has come before, and that this will affect individual artists, the institutions that exhibit and archive artwork, and the academy that trains young artists. Emerging digital technology and communication networks will alter both the production and the consumption of art in the future. The questions that these changes raise are rather urgent, given that the artists of the next century are in our classrooms right now.

But I don't want to leave any readers with the impression that I am an evangelist for digital technology. I like my computer about as much as I like my car and the telephone; meaning not all that much. I have a profound ambivalence about technology of any kind, and think of it as a huge Faustian bargain. Some of my fondest memories are of days spent wandering alone in the Sierra Nevada mountains with only a backpack, a map, and a compass. But I can't fool myself into forgetting that I reached my destination by car. I grow organic vegetables every summer. But there are some nights when all I want to do is phone in my pizza order, pick it up at the drive-thru window, and head for home. I don't live in a hut in the woods. I live in a house with central air and indoor plumbing. I'm a romantic, but I live in the modern world of jet travel, automobiles, cable television, cellular telephones; and yes, computers.

I do not believe that electronic art will overtake older art forms, and I am not advocating that we fill all our painting and sculpture studios, all our darkrooms, with computers. The traditional media will continue to thrive. There will always be a qualitative difference between a hand-painted object and a computer-generated image on a glowing monitor; just as there is a qualitative difference between a hand-written letter and a telephone conversation, or between recorded music and a live performance. Our world is characterized by the co-existence of diverse forms of communication, and the fine arts are not immune to this condition.

The Internet offers artists new ways to communicate and new communities to interact with. It also affords electronic artists an environment that maintains the integrity of the work's original form. New electronic media occupy the same position in popular culture today that photography occupied some thirty years ago. So photography programs, in particular, would be well-advised to look at the history of their own medium in trying to divine the direction in which the curriculum of the future might develop.

What is certain is that art schools have a mandate to embrace new artistic tools that will help their students succeed and thrive in the next century. The truly successful artists of the future will be those who use the tools of the day to speak a common language; one that has resonance for the tribe.

And finally, in the midst of all this talk about technology and tools, it is important to remember that art is ultimately about giving expression to our beliefs and substance to our dreams. I'd like to think that what I do best as an educator is pass on values that are independent of the tools that my students will employ; which is pretty important since those tools are probably beyond my ability to imagine. But I do hope my students understand that each tool engenders its own language, and I want them to be willing to use whatever tool it takes to get the job done.