Forty years ago, when the internet was officially birthed on January 1 1983, my guess is few people would have known the impact this technological feat would have on society, let alone art.
Digital artist Don Searll has keenly explored art in the virtual world and is excited about what it may look like in future.
Searll has worked as a producer and director in what he calls an “experiential space” for decades. He started creating digital art in the early 1990s and is now ready to more intently focus his energy on being a digital artist and photographer, under the pseudonym Art by MaXx.
THE EVOLUTION OF ART
“The evolution of tools over the years has matured,” Searll says when I ask him about the new direction he’s taking. “Global art has much more potential now than in the past because we’ve got the internet, we’ve got high-speed technology that we can use to create video, 3D and 360, and virtual reality.
“In the old days you’d have an exhibition and get a 100 or so people attending. The potential to have people view your art now is vast. Because of the internet, you can reach a much greater audience.”
His first project for 2023 as an exhibiting artist is as part of group show Cubicle at Everard Read CIRCA Gallery in Cape Town. Opening on January 9, it is not a traditional group show. Rather, every artist will receive a room or cubicle in which to exhibit their work, almost as a mini exhibition within the larger showing.
Searll’s exhibition is titled It's About Time and it looks at art from the past, present and future, with a bit of a twist.
In looking to art from the past, Searll is recreating rock art — the oldest form of art — but he’s presenting it in a virtual reality form.
To show art in the present, he’ll create a sculpture to broadcast the process live. “Anybody in the world can go onto YouTube, dial in and be in the gallery in real time to see what’s going on,” he says. “That’s representing the ‘now’ — showing art in real-time.”
Finally, in depicting the future of art, Searll has turned to the metaverse. To do this he’s created work in cyberspace, or online, printed it and framed it to be viewed in the exhibition. Basically, “bringing the metaverse into the universe”, or something as closely related to that as possible.
ART IN THE METAVERSE
If Mark Zuckerberg’s claims that the metaverse could replace the internet as we know it bear any truth, it could be a game changer for the way art is created and consumed. This is something that excites Searll.
“With the metaverse, I can have a gallery with 10,000 works and it can be there all the time. It doesn’t have to end in two weeks; it can be on forever.”
It could also change people's access to art from the past, Searll argues. The metaverse could offer a platform for people to view high-end multimillion-dollar artworks that are in storage and might otherwise never be seen, without fear of damage or theft.
Part of my gumption is that art changes [and yet] people are petrified of change.
— Don Searll
“Part of my gumption is that art changes [and yet] people are petrified of change. Historically, artists had to go down to the river, find a bit of yellow ochre, crush it and mix it with oil, fat and eggs to make pigment. When paint came out in tubes everybody was up in arms but it freed the artist.”
The introduction of the airbrush and computer graphics in the mid-20th century brought about similar disruptions. “The movie industry was the same,” Searll says.
“Some artists will fall by the wayside,” he says when I ask him about the importance of traditional art. “Some artists will lose out, but not necessarily. I think art evolves, just like life.”
The point, Searll says, is that adaptations in the way art is created and consumed, and the possibilities brought about by technology, are opening up opportunities in art, making it more accessible and exciting.
“Art has the potential to uplift and inspire people,” he says. “The more people who can see it and the more they can experience it, the more potential we have to uplift and inspire people.”
• Cubicle will be on show at Everard Read CIRCA gallery in Cape Town from January 9 to January 21.
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