Info art is the combination of visual arts and information technology. It may also be known as digital art, digital manipulation, meta-art, or visual culture. It is the result of information being manipulated and changed into visual culture. Info art usually reflects socio-historical or cultural information in a new medium such as computer animation, graphic design, computer animation, digital manipulation, video, audio, 3D animation, and film or sculpture.
Info art was conceived as a reaction against the increasing lack of accessibility to art galleries in commercial galleries or professional art centers. It is the collective expression of artists’ struggles with systems of power and control over information. The term “info art” was first used in the 1990s, when the artist Jasper Johns used it to describe his work. He felt that contemporary society was saturated with information, and he felt unable to create a work of art which was not information driven. This led him to develop a highly abstract style of painting, which can still be seen in works like Masterpiece, Color Fields, and Blank Slate. Information art then came into its own in the following years, with multimedia artists working in television, films, and computer games, coming to realize that their art had to incorporate multimedia features.
Info art is therefore the fusion of art and information. It is an expression of the artist’s desire to make a visual representation of his/her information-spreading subjects. For example, computer animation adds movement to a piece of information, whereas a photograph would simply be a still photograph. In this way, multimedia art shares characteristics with fine arts, as both are highly abstract, usually representational, and representational. However, there is also a strong difference between the two styles, where information is given visual form, and in which information is communicated in a symbolic manner.
In short, info art is the fusion of art and information. It is the digital expression of artists’ struggles with the systems of power and control over information. It can take the form of political activism, scientific research, environmental concerns, or even artistic expressions of rage. What is important is that it is done in such a way that the message is understood. The goal is not to simply create an object, but rather to communicate a complex message.
Informative visual artworks have been around since the mid nineteen sixties, when the Paris Museum of Modern Art first showcased Pop Art. Though Pop Art was criticized by some for being too commercial, it nevertheless paved the way for new and more expressive styles to emerge. Today, many contemporary artists are exploring the implications of Pop Art and other abstract expressionist art. Pop art in turn was directly influenced by the United States and world events at the time, which gave birth to various styles and formats. Thanks to these artists, there is now a long list of famous works that we owe to Pop Art.
Today’s multimedia artists are taking advantage of the opportunities afforded by high-speed Internet and video technology. Their artwork is no longer relegated to the walls of museums. In fact, many people who visit art exhibitions are so impressed by the visual quality and depth of these artists’ work that they often ask where they can find such good art. It is because of this high regard for fine art that more artists are producing high-quality, easy to use and download multimedia artwork.