Fine Art in the New Media
So, we chose this clip to report the news of the restoration of Rembrandt’s Night Watch over all other video and print media reporting on the same topic. The BBC, The New York Times. The Guardian, The Telegraph, Artsy.net, and The Rijksmuseum itself ,among others because it is a simple demonstration of Fine Art in the New Media.
The video above was produces by YouTube under its brand “Breaking News Today.” The video focuses only on the painting, there are no talking heads, and no break-aways to other scenes.
More importantly, the video is a “speaking video,” with written subtitles. This puts the emphasis on the visual of the painting, and the spoken voice.
While this may seem a simple concept, we are so wedded to the printed word that we expect to receive all of the story via the print media. This is a concept which, even in the digital age, attempts to elevate the printed word as the most authentic reporting of an event. This may even be seen in the museum where typically visitors spend more time attempting to read the wall tags, rather than stepping back and really looking at the art – the composition, brushwork, the interplay of color, light and shadow, the story and meaning it suggests to the you as an individual – and giving free rein to you imagination and creativity. Less will be said about the attempt to “capture” the image on a phone …
