The present tendency/opportunity for visual artists to execute
works in the mass media (i.e. telecommunications) is indicative of
the times. Clearly, the state of world conditions, with the violent
separations in human consciousness, demand that each of us reevaluate our societal roles with a fresh and critical eye.
Artists have always performed the function of explorer/experimenter
with human potentials, pushing at the edges of what is known or
accepted; but, visible as a peripheral character in real time social
interaction. The archetype of the lone traveler, misunderstood in his
time, whose vision is to be redeemed in the future. Yet, with the
current era's incredible compression of time, the folding over on to
itself of realities, this phenomenon is rapidly disappearing, in part
due to the "global village" effect of mass communications. In the
past, this foraging in the future provided a buffer zone (time) with
which society could direct and realign its consciousness, giving the
necessary preparation to new trends in human experience. But, the
quickening of the times seems to have altered this function,
demanding a more real time, interactive role with a shorter feedback loop.

In the age of specialization (fragmentation), what we acutely
lack is a sense of overview. And it is in this specialty that the artist,
creative overview thinker, has always excelled - that ability to create
sweeping gestures that house a certain sense of mythic vision large
enough to contain global views. It is not to say that artists "have the
answers,” but that collectively they provide an area of thought, a
scope of vision, from which society can draw a clearer view of
potential solutions. the "times" seem to have a way of calling into
service that which is necessary for the planet's development. So, it
seems perfectly understandable that we should see a proliferation of
visual artists "crossing over" into mass media, as a necessary
adjustment in roles, taking a more visible/active voice in society,
quite often with increased collaborative elements, precisely because
the times demand it.

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Now, we may hear cries of disdain or fears of a new "populism,"
that could dilute the purity of creative vision, that involvement with
mass media is tantamount to heresy or treason. But it seems that
artists have always been persuaded less by definitions of their
activities than by the "zeitgeist," which moves them in new
directions. The current urgency demands speaking with the most
efficient and inclusive voices. Obviously, an active dialogue with and
use of mass media and in particular telecommunications, as the
interactive/real time global communication, par excellence, is both
crucially necessary and inevitable. To refuse to embrace the spirit of
the times, to withhold the expertise, while clinging to an archaic,
sentimental and ego-centered definition of art and artists' roles,
would be an arrogance that spiritually and morally is unaffordable.