NEXT 2008 | CULTURE

The New New Thing: Same As It Ever Was

In the arts, the march of progress has reached its destination. Happy now?

By David Gates | NEWSWEEK

Dec. 31, 2007 - Jan. 7, 2008 issue

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Posted By: markatos @ 01/08/2008 5:06:01 PM

Comment: Sure, the preponderance of the internet has made it easy for artistic styles to be copied and regurgitated, now more so than ever. And even current forms of music/art/design celebrate "re-appropriation", and we accept this as a culture. This, I think, can lead one to think that there is nothing new under the sun.

Of course, this is true to an extent. We haven't seen a lot of change in music for example, though I would argue its hard to discern sea-changes in an artistic field due to the how much hold commercialism has over how and what we experience.

That's the thing. There might amazing "new" things out there that aren't "commercially viable", hence we don't get to know about them. There might even be things that are 100's of years old, that are phenomenal that we don't know about for this same reason (or they were burned by barbarians etc...).

Early innovators stick out not just because they blazed new trails, but also because there wasn't a viacom saying "this is just too...loud (or whatever)." Jimi hendrix is a good example here. He was rejected commercially in America at first, and if he didn't go to Europe, we'd never have known about him probably.

Each of these unknowns can lead to innovation and evolution of an art form. To say nothing new will happen is to say that we know all there is/was/and will be.

This, clearly, is total fallacy.

A perfect corollary would be in the world of physics. Newtonian physicists said the same exact thing before Einstein came along.

You want something new? Just ponder for a second how quantum mechanics might effect art. The possibilities are beyond imagination.
Posted By: markatos @ 01/08/2008 5:05:39 PM

Comment: Sure, the preponderance of the internet has made it easy for artistic styles to be copied and regurgitated, now more so than ever. And even current forms of music/art/design celebrate "re-appropriation", and we accept this as a culture. This, I think, can lead one to think that there is nothing new under the sun.

Of course, this is true to an extent. We haven't seen a lot of change in music for example, though I would argue its hard to discern sea-changes in an artistic field due to the how much hold commercialism has over how and what we experience.

That's the thing. There might amazing "new" things out there that aren't "commercially viable", hence we don't get to know about them. There might even be things that are 100's of years old, that are phenomenal that we don't know about for this same reason (or they were burned by barbarians etc...).

Early innovators stick out not just because they blazed new trails, but also because there wasn't a viacom saying "this is just too...loud (or whatever)." Jimi hendrix is a good example here. He was rejected commercially in America at first, and if he didn't go to Europe, we'd never have known about him probably.

Each of these unknowns can lead to innovation and evolution of an art form. To say nothing new will happen is to say that we know all there is/was/and will be.

This, clearly, is total fallacy.

A perfect corollary would be in the world of physics. Newtonian physicists said the same exact thing before Einstein came along.

You want something new? Just ponder for a second how quantum mechanics might effect art. The possibilities are beyond imagination.
Posted By: John Luma @ 01/03/2008 12:52:56 PM

Comment: Great article about America's identity as the land of the perpetual New. And the world following our lead. But if the artists and the people can focus on the facts, they will see that a better imperative would be to experience what has already been produced over the last millenium in art and culture, and then see how New we feel. There is so much literature and art we've never experienced -- thousands of great achievements -- it would be smart to even try to absorb it for the rest of our lives. Most of us only scratch the surface -- while we complain that there's "nothing new."
Posted By: topraman517 @ 12/31/2007 9:02:34 PM

Comment: This article echoes what I have concluded for over a year now. While I can't speak for all art, I do believe music has been dead since the mid 90s. The simple reason for this is that there is nothing more to innovate on; everything has already been done. So instead we get the same rehashed ideas year after year. Before you dismiss me as an old fogey who can't get with the times, you should know that I am actually a teen.
Posted By: topraman517 @ 12/31/2007 9:01:36 PM

Comment: This article echoes what I have concluded for over a year now. While I can't speak for all art, I do believe music has been dead since the mid 90s. The simple reason for this is that there is nothing more to innovate on; everything has already been done. So instead we get the same rehashed ideas year after year. Before you dismiss me as an old fogey who can't get with the times, you should know that I am actually a teen.