Mcluhan's statement, "The power of the arts to anticpate future social and technological developments, by a generation and more, has long been recognized. In this centure Ezra Pound called the artist "the antennae of the race". Art as radar acts as "an early alarm system" as it were, enabling us to discover social and psychic targets in lots of time to prepare to cope with them" is his own perspective on what art and the artist role is in our society much as what this blog is of my own perspective on this idea. The power of the art is expressed through all different forms but the form that is most viewed by society is through media. Media is created by tools that help deliver information to the masses. Mcluahn's idea that art is "an early alarm system" of the future of society is indeed just another persons perspective on what is currently occuring in society and what may occur. Artists take what is popular in society and use technology to create art and place it in the media. Art can not prepare people for the outcomes of society.
Technology plays a huge role in the creation of the widespread messages that are transmitted through media. Mcluhan states, "The effects of technology do not occur at the level of opinions or concepts, but alter sense ratios or patterns of perception steadily and without any resistance. The serious artist is the only person able to encounter technology with impunity, just because he is an expert aware of the changes in sense perception" is basically Mcluhan's way of glorifying the artist. I agree with Mitchel in that artists take a stance on what is occuring in society and they may also make conclusions on what may happen later in society. Every person that is a part of society is an artist. People take in perspectives on the world and use that to represent who they are and what they feel. People's culture is a form of art and it is often experessed through technology and media for society as a whole to view. The picture on the blog is one artists representation of society at the time they created that picutre. The picture is a very good representation of things that also may lead to changes in society in the future, such as the windmills, and the McDonald's symbols. I disagree with Mcluhan's statement "the serious artist is the only person to encounter technology with impunity" because all people percieve the world around them and can create what they believe what is important in society through culture.
I like your idea that all people are inherently artists. It kind of changes my definition of what art is because we all have the ability to create something in reaction to our culture/experiences. It's interesting how our definitions and views of artists have changed throughout time. I agree that some current well-paid artists “take what is popular in society and use technology to create art and place it in the media” but I wonder if this same claim can be applied to prominent earlier artists like Van Gogh or da Vinci.
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