“Technology is the mortal enemy of art”

In the ‘Manifesto of the Constructivist Group’, Rodchenko states that ‘technology is the mortal enemy of art’, which is a phrase that I completely disagree with.

The reason I disagree with this statement is because I believe that technology is vital in some aspects of art, for example, graphic design. Graphic design is dependant on computers in order to get the outcome that designers want, and without the technology that we have today, graphic design wouldn’t be in such a remarkable place as it is now, and we wouldn’t have the iconic movie posters/album covers etc. that we remember.

Technology also enables us to save multiple versions of our work, allowing us to edit and go back between the different ones to see which is the best. Technology lets us share our work over the internet for people to see, which allows us to accept commissions and work from brands, or create branding for companies. Without technology, work would be harder to find, and, if found, would take longer to create.

Rodchenko uses the word ‘enemy’ to describe technology and its relation to art as a whole. I think the reason he says this is because he despises anything that could threaten the authenticity of art as it happened centuries ago – by the artists’ hands themselves, without editing and done first time. Because of technology, we now have the power to change our art completely from what it started out as, whether it’s photoshopping out flaws to removing something entirely. However, I still think that technology is essential to artists.

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