[On Painting] Steve Jobs
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Duane
Oct 7, 2011, 11:26:12 AM10/7/11
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I cannot think of anyone who has done more to empower artists than Steve Jobs.
Because of the internet, for the first time in history artists have the capability to show their work to the world. Steve Jobs, of course, did not invent the internet but the internet was only going to be as useful as the devices used to access it and by making computers friendly and intuitive, he made it accessible to the average person (and by computers I don't just means Macs but also the PCs that adopted many of Apple's ideas.) Yes, the creative aspects of his Apple devices are amazing: walking out of an apple store with one of his new wonderful things always makes me feel the same way I do when walk out of an art store with some beautiful new tubes of color. It makes me want to make something. To experiment. To play. My iPhone, like all great tools, is invisible to me. It is so intuitive that, like a hammer, I can just use it (my Daughter, when she was two-years old, learned how to scroll through pictures after watching me do it for a few seconds.) It has become a natural extension of my studio, my office and my mind.
But Steve Jobs biggest legacy to artists is not necessarily what we, as artists, do with his devices but rather what our audience does with them. They use them. If the devices used to access the internet were cold, onerous machines I doubt many of my collectors would bother to use them. We'd be isolated and dependent on others to find collectors for us.
How many thousands of artists, of all types, are now making a living from their work because of Steve Jobs and the fact that he made computers that anyone can use? The traditional barriers that made the idea of surviving as a full-time artist seem so hopeless aren't quite so hopeless anymore. When a talented student comes to me asking whether he can realistically expect to make living as an artist, I say yes. I can say that because artists have so many more choices now in how they get their work in front of an audience. I can say that because I know he/she will not necessarily have to rely on the vagaries of middlemen and gatekeepers-- galleries, publishers, recording studios, TV networks etc. I can say that because of Steve Jobs.
So to Mr. Jobs, I say thank you. Many artists, including myself, are able to "do what they love" because of what you did.
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Posted By Duane to On Painting at 10/07/2011 08:26:00 AM
Because of the internet, for the first time in history artists have the capability to show their work to the world. Steve Jobs, of course, did not invent the internet but the internet was only going to be as useful as the devices used to access it and by making computers friendly and intuitive, he made it accessible to the average person (and by computers I don't just means Macs but also the PCs that adopted many of Apple's ideas.) Yes, the creative aspects of his Apple devices are amazing: walking out of an apple store with one of his new wonderful things always makes me feel the same way I do when walk out of an art store with some beautiful new tubes of color. It makes me want to make something. To experiment. To play. My iPhone, like all great tools, is invisible to me. It is so intuitive that, like a hammer, I can just use it (my Daughter, when she was two-years old, learned how to scroll through pictures after watching me do it for a few seconds.) It has become a natural extension of my studio, my office and my mind.
But Steve Jobs biggest legacy to artists is not necessarily what we, as artists, do with his devices but rather what our audience does with them. They use them. If the devices used to access the internet were cold, onerous machines I doubt many of my collectors would bother to use them. We'd be isolated and dependent on others to find collectors for us.
How many thousands of artists, of all types, are now making a living from their work because of Steve Jobs and the fact that he made computers that anyone can use? The traditional barriers that made the idea of surviving as a full-time artist seem so hopeless aren't quite so hopeless anymore. When a talented student comes to me asking whether he can realistically expect to make living as an artist, I say yes. I can say that because artists have so many more choices now in how they get their work in front of an audience. I can say that because I know he/she will not necessarily have to rely on the vagaries of middlemen and gatekeepers-- galleries, publishers, recording studios, TV networks etc. I can say that because of Steve Jobs.
So to Mr. Jobs, I say thank you. Many artists, including myself, are able to "do what they love" because of what you did.
--
Posted By Duane to On Painting at 10/07/2011 08:26:00 AM
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