Technology has now become a main factor in Art Media: History and Theory. Now we explore Electronic Media and Performance. When it comes to Electronic Media and Performance this includes any media that uses electricity. It all started with the invention of the telegraph and radios. Samuel Morris invented the telegraph. He was an American painter and went to Art school. In 1922, Guglielmo Marconi sent the first wireless telegram. He was able to send an S across the Atlantic. In 1934, every household owned a radio. The problem with the radio was that everyone believed what was said on the radio. Even when Orson Wells, went on live air with his radio broadcast "War of the Worlds" and accidentally caused a panic because people thought war was happening.
When the 1950's came so did Television. It was during this time that Broadway was losing it's popularity and people blamed tv's and the depression. This was because people could now watch things from home. They didn't have to get dressed, spend money and leave their house to be entertained. Tv's allowed access to stars, including musicians and actors, into everyday homes. Some of the popular shows at this time were I Love Lucy, Who's the Line? and The Honeymooners.
Technology kept evolving and now the age of the Digital Revolution came. Computers and cell phones were created. Now there was a development and a competition between film v.s digital, and analog signals v.s. digital signals.
With the evolution of technology, Cinema became bigger and more of a spectacle. In the 1999, Lucasfilm released Star Wars: Episode 1 Phantom Menace. George Lucas ended up releasing his films out of order because of the lack of technology needed to develop them. Star Wars Episode 1 ended up being the first film to be filmed on a digital camera. Now making a movie using film is too expensive because of the cost of materials compared to digital.
Mass Media continues to become bigger and bigger. The problem with mass media is that one has to be careful of what information they're intaking. Mass media likes to manipulate it's audience. One of the outlets of Mass Media is the News. A lot of News networks has become very biased and caters to audience views. When it comes to commercials, they're selling an idea on how/why you need their product. They use popular actors as a spokesperson. They also tell lies for facts and use actors for testimonials.
Even though acting is a performing art there is a difference between actors and performance art. Actors act and make someone believe what's going on. While Performance artist use their art to tell the truth.
You can't have art forms without having critics. Here comes Walter Benjamin. Benjamin talks about tv's and media consumption. He expresses commentary on media usage. He expresses his opinions about how film can feel real even though they can be unreal. It allows people to see parts of the world that they'll never normally see, including perspectives. This could also be bad because there can be a control on the world and what is actually seen vs. what is actually happening. People are also think collectively instead of individually. Benjamin believed that media was taking over people's minds and thoughts of their individuality. Individuals were no longer able to think freely. Especially those that over-consumed, this mean there was little to no original thought coming from the individual.
This came to the Pros and Cons of Electronic Media. The News would report on things while it was happening, before the story was complete. This caused high hysteria.
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