Nowadays, it has become common for artists to share their work through the internet, websites, and web galleries, mostly due to the development of social media.
The use of videography and photography is mandatory, because good-quality filming influences the artwork’s presentation and increases the audience.
From the period of simple text and image posts until now, with reels and shorts, the way people see art has changed. This brings both benefits and non-benefits for artists.
Benefits
Many visual artists have been using the internet to gain popularity through the joining of communities of artists,
art lovers, and collectors. Sharing their creative process creates expectations for the final artwork reveal.
There are many ways to earn money through the internet,
and art is included as well. Once art is shared in multimedia form,
artists can benefit from virtual sales, auctions, views, and, when they reach big popularity,
they can also promote other businesses through their pages or platform profiles.
Non-benefits
Well, challenges are always there to remind us that this is real life and not everything is a sea of roses.
Many artists with a large number of followers have become victims of algorithms that prioritize trends,
and art is not always a trend. Because of this, it is common to see social media art pages with millions of followers but less than 200 interactions (likes, comments).
Smaller artists face this even more, being obliged to follow trends just to fit the algorithm’s will.
The obligation to share content very frequently increases anxiety and creates pressure, which can make the art creation process less good and less relaxing than it should be.
Art exhibitions are also being affected by the internet. Many people are no longer interested in attending exhibitions because they already see the artwork digitally,
and that seems enough. Only true art lovers and collectors do not give up on the incredible experience of art exhibitions.
Some years ago, if you didn’t go to the exhibition, you wouldn’t even see the artwork at all.
I cannot say whether there are more benefits or not, but the internet is a factor we cannot pretend does not exist.
If an artist wants to grow and sell nowadays, they need to explore the best way to work within the internet,
whether through popular social media, websites, virtual galleries, etc.
The world is digital now, and surely only those who work side by side with the digital world can win and reach a successful career or business.