The Importance and Value of Crossing of Disciplinary and Artistic Borders The notion that “ Art is not a thing; it is a way” implies that it is a complex activity that does not strictly comply with one technique or media. Instead, it is a sophisticated activity that involves the use of various elements and media. This implies that rather than complying with traditional artwork, artists can feel free to choose to use one medium or opt to use as many as possible. This paper presents a critical overview, use and merits of mixed media art-crossing of disciplinary and artistic borders.
Mixed media art is a type of art in which the artist uses more than one medium in the creation of their piece of artwork. As seen in the interview, this is not anew strategy because it has been in use for a long time now. Its invention, as evidenced in the artist’s argument really revolutionized art. By combining the elements of traditional art to the new found media, the artist managed to produce amazing oil portraits, an aura that played a very significant role in making art to be perceived to be having a political influence in the society. However, for this kind of artwork to be properly made, a proper choice of the sturdy foundation should be made for all the layers included in the artwork.
Indeed, mixed media art is a noble idea because it has lots of benefits to the artists and consumers of artwork. Its first advantage is that it is const-friendly. As compared to the traditional art, mixed media art is a very cheap initiative as it does not have many expenses. Since it is not restricted to the use of only one particular medium, the artist is free to choose to use a variety of objects including newspapers, oil paint, clothes, sculpture, textile, ink, pieces of wood, graphite or household glue. All of these do not necessarily need to be bought because a large number of them like newspapers and pieces of wood can be easily found and collected from the immediate environment.
Besides, mixed media art can be used in expressing political views. Over the years, art has been used as a very powerful tool in politics. As indicated in the article, the use of oil portraits played a very significant role in the political scene. By combining randomly found objects and traditional media, the artist managed to create appealing portraits for Margaret Thatcher. This is a clear indication that a proper use of mixed media can greatly help in the political engagement of art. It makes it easier for art to go beyond political borders by creating a political content in them.
Lastly, mixed art is more aesthetic and appealing as compared to the traditional media art. By using a wide range of elements like colors and shapes the artwork becomes so amazing to view. Further more, using numerous media makes the work to be quite sensational and up to the context since it only uses materials collected from the immediate surrounding. So, these are the benefits that can accrue from the use of multiple media in the creation of art.
