Welcome to the 159th insertion of DEMUR®, an analytical series highlighting the intricacies of the artistic world and the minutiae lying within. In this episode, we take a seat at The Last Supper, filling our plates with sounds, pigments and passion to examine the fine arts with a contemporary lens.
Simply put, art is everywhere. Whether it’s a painting or an intriguing building, art lies in the smallest of nooks, appearing throughout our everyday lives. From the commute to work to the office walls, and perhaps even the grocery store, we’re frequently reminded of the artistic sphere, breathing life into monotonous cycles and pressurizing deadlines.
While often taken for granted, art has been evolving for the past 30,000 years. Excavating vast landscapes in Asia, Africa and Europe, researchers have discovered cave etchings and basic sculptures produced by the likes of primitive Homo Neanderthals. Barred by language barriers, these depictions were used to communicate with each other, remind peers of events, and keep track of time.
Over hundreds of millennia, we’d battle with topics of the afterlife, idealism and mosaics before paint even touched a canvas. Entering the 13th and 14th centuries, paintings would begin to leach from their medium, awakening characters through shadows and lighting. Revived by the Renaissance (rebirth), three-dimensional paintings would establish the foundation for much of today’s work, bringing famed pieces like The Last Supper and Mona Lisa as modern techniques developed.
With such leaps in technicality, we grew closer to the contemporary light, shifting art in presentation, execution and idea. While technology has developed, social media grants a widespread platform to debate varying perspectives, pushing artists to illustrate deeper ideas in premise. Aided by high-resolution cameras that fit in our pockets, the general populous has amassed a greater interest in shared nuance. Directing focus toward the world’s subtleties, million-dollar artworks stray further from art’s technical roots than ever before, lacking physicality or fiat currency to boot.
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