On swiss army knife artists

While interdisciplinarity between the arts and other fields is celebrated through internationally renowned institutions such as CERN or MIT, the academic art world continues to put the brakes on. This is particularly true in schools, where budding artists are not always encouraged to stand out and open themselves up to other practices. While the older generation ensures that codes and customs are respected by their peers, the younger generation looks to the future, experiments, feeds itself and gives new meaning to the arts. In addition to the popularisation of digital tools, comes the democratisation of hybrid works as witnessed in the last two decades. So who are the artists of the future? Are we watching the rebirth and even the recognition of polymathic artists?

Too open, too political, not feminist enough, asserting one's free artistic expression requires courage. Marie Molins is one of those who have been confronted by the stiffness of the school for their techno-curiosity. However, the field of digital art is gaining more and more ground in French schools, following recent developments in the art market. The more established artists have expressed their attraction to new technologies, the more digital creations have flocked to public and private institutions. With this, we have entered an era of normalisation of the use of new technologies in the arts. Many today do not hesitate to take advantage of the situation by creating from AI, NFT or simply an abundance of digital objects, in order to gain notoriety. The famous auction house Sotheby’s has already launched a platform in the metaverse in 2021 in response to the phenomenon, contributing to the generalisation of these practices and encouraging artists to adopt this new posture without necessarily understanding the consequences.

Of course, not all artists who create digital objects do so for the sole purpose of making money. But it shows us that there is clearly a craze for new technologies which, according to Marie, combined with the social networking frenzy, can be dangerous. Relevant issues take a back seat to creation, artists are more concerned with the image and the message transmitted by the medium than with the critical message. This explains the profusion of digital artworks, all so similar and yet so unique. If we think about it, this does not differ greatly from the classical pattern of art history; the pompier (academic) art has also seen an excess of similar paintings in the use of mediums and themes. These simply represent the traditional values of 19th century European society, which we know proved to be detrimental.

Except that today, we are collectively facing a climate emergency and a growing inequality gap. Artists will not escape this; their role must evolve, it has become absolutely necessary to take a critical look at artistic creation, to reinvent a healthy way of creating, and to reaffirm positive values. Increasingly, the younger generation is disobeying education, breaking down the barriers between disciplines, and favouring collaborative work. Projects with a scientific, social, political and environmental focus are slowly growing in tandem with public financial support programmes. An encouraging new trend is emerging, with the hope that it will also become more widespread in the near future.

Although the academic system is still archaic, scientific and technological advances have given new impetus to polymathic, interdisciplinary, or Swiss Army knife artists.

These women and men, working together to redefine the limits of the arts and sciences, are gradually introducing to the general public the values essential to building a desirable future.