A young Swedish artist contributed to thewonderwound
recently, and having a look through his work I found his Observatory series
complete. A three piece set, the images were an exercise for the artist to practice
his craft as a digital artist, re-toucher and photographer. As one would
expect, the use of software and colour was good, and created some
nice-to-look-at work. However, the artist noted the images of this exercise had
been inspired by a movie poster (any guesses which one?), which seemed
self-explanatory: Wahlin is of a digital generation, and inspiration for his
peers is largely found on screen.
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| Inspiration derived from film posters is just an example of where gen Y get there inspiration from |
His work, in contrast to Nick Alive’s (another artist
featured on this blog) is a strong example of the generational differences that
a decade can make. One artist works in graffiti, life informing his creations,
the other is yet to see the world but can already identify with the darkness,
economic and environmental crisis’ that cripple his generation, but is still
eager to go out there and soar among the stars.
This recognition is largely down to the type of art
available to us and what it says about our world, which inevitably provides us
with inspiration: before the Romantics, imitation was the highest form of
flattery, and artists would therefore spend years learning the styles of the
greats before them. The French Revolution was an indictment of neo-Classical
ways in society, and the neo-classical art then provided a base line for the
Romantic Movement as something to avoid and reject. Artist then drew
inspiration from an almost pantheistic lifestyle as a result of this rejection.
And this goes on: art is inspired by our time if the world
works, rejected if the world does not. Pop Art in the fifties challenged the
traditional fine art as a reflection of the attitudes of life, the styles of
music and advertisements and comics that were around at the time, and after the
depression and Second World War.
Now: we live in a digital age where the remakes of popular comics and films by those older
and more experienced in the creative industries have darker tones, that
influence today’s younger artist to create a slightly dystopian tinged style of
art. Mixed in with the hopelessness that is conveyed to us every day through
news outlets, this is understandable. But then you have this little glimmer of
hope: technology advances every minute, the medical sciences come closer to
making breakthroughs, and every now and again, someone does something wonderful
and kind. So, generation Y produce art
that is dark, and dirty, and degenerative, but also something that boasts a
little something hopeful and magical.
