Current technology is not only an accommodation or a tool, but also a sort of necessity in every day life. This reality has altered the rhythm and the perception people have of the world. An area that has been significantly affected is that of the arts. Music and the insight of beauty have changed quite drastically due to the social impact that technology has presented in the last decade.

Music: “In 1964 [Robert Moog] (…) began to manufacture electronic music synthesizers” (MIT, 2012). At this point the music industry was basically unscathed by technology. Sure, there were sound synthesizers that helped record music in better quality, but music was produced and presented under the musicians’ innate ability. However, past this point in time, digital technology started to influence music drastically. Groups of musicians used synthesizers to produce new sound effects that gave a great vibe to music. As time went on beats were able to occur in loops thanks to new machines, such as the KorgM1 and new types of music appeared such as electronica, techno, and break-beat. These developments have broadened the tune spectrum, if it can be called so. Nonetheless, this impact cannot be only positive and this is clear in the so called “lip sync”. Since loops are now possible, and anything can be played at the press of a button artists have used this to fake a performance for some reason or another. Music has been highly influenced by digital technology in both a positive and negative manner.

Art: “In 1826 [Joseph Nicéphore Niepce] produced the first known photograph” (Columbia University, 2014) the world was revolutionized. Photography came to be in that moment, and artists had to adapt to win the new competition. Movements that had great use of color arose since photos at the time were in black and white. Artists took advantage of this and eventually Impressionism came to be. Art started a continuous race with photography. It changed to do what others and photos could not accomplish. During the invention of colored photography artist destroyed the figure in Cubism, then they followed with Surrealism, exploring the dreams and fantasy worlds and later on Abstract art, taking everything to its most basic state. When photography was not as detailed as it can be now, Hyperrealism appeared and so on. In our times, art continues to evolve, but the idea of beauty has been altered greatly since the invention of Photoshop. An image plastered everywhere is that of woman. Pictures of females appear in magazines, advertisements, and posters. This look is greatly altered by computers to create a “perfect” and undeniably attractive person. However, the created image is neither real nor possible and it has not only affected the life of womenfolk everywhere. It does not only occur with women, also men, houses, scenery, and whatever else can be named, are modified to seem perfect and real although both aspects are fake.

The negativity of technology in the arts and society is most definitely present today. However, it can be somewhat masked by the positive aspects that it has brought to both music and art. Thanks to technology both these branches have developed new techniques, new movements and new genres. The technology that society appreciates so much can hurt and help everything that it affects.

Bibliography
Columbia University. (2013) Joseph Nicéphore Niepce. Retrieved March 18, 2014 from: http://web.a.ebscohost.com/src/detail?vid=3&sid=5356ed96-3295-44fa-9926-8148d591b377%40sessionmgr4003&hid=4112&bdata=JnNpdGU9c3JjLWxpdmU%3d#db=mih&AN=39024345
MIT. (2012) Robert Moog. Retrieved March 18, 2014 from: http://web.mit.edu/invent/iow/moog.html