IMA 501 – Michaela Collins
Abstract: As technology continues to advance in the digital age, art has progressed in a way that many traditionalists can’t seem to grasp. Through new software and applications such as Adobe Creative Suite, artists have discovered a whole new canvas for creation. As a recent graduate with a BFA in Painting, one of the largest debates I faced was “Is Painting Dead?” or “Is traditional art dead?” With the world wide web at our fingertips, I feel that traditional artwork can be brought back to life through the use of interactive media. This will be done by creating a space for artists to upload, share, blog, and interact all on one website. This website will take the fundamentals of what other social media, advertising, and educational websites do, but will be specifically for artists.
Mission Statement:
- What would your thesis actually accomplish, how and why is this necessary?
My thesis will provide artist’s, specifically traditional artists with a new venue to show their work. My website will make uploading photos and videos simple and easy for all users. Like other social media sites, the user will create an account to share and post their artwork online. Not only will artists be able to share their work without having to pay for a website, but they will also be able to interact and connect with other artists and colleagues. The site will also provide users and visitors with an updated Art News page featuring recent articles/ posts about artists, shows, galleries, open calls, etc. This website is necessary for artists to get their work online instead of just sitting in a gallery. It will also be an educational tool for art educators to use in the classroom, a way to show students examples of contemporary artists. Schools can even create their own page to display student artwork as well.
2.What will it look like?
The website will have a simple and clear design to it, making it easy for all users to navigate. On the home page there will be a slide of photographs of artists’s work. I recently viewed www.squarespace.com which has a similar concept and I enjoyed the overall clean design and simple layout.
3.Please provide links to sites that you find visually appealing and how would you use these capabilities?
www.facebook.com. www.linkedin.com. www.etsy.com www.tumblr.com www.thedrawingcenter.org www.fineartamerica.com www.art.com www.squarespace.com
I will combine different capabilities that I find appealing from each of these sites to design my thesis. I will research and explore which qualities not only look simple and clean, but work most efficiently. Making my website easy for new users.
UGallery is a company that successfully uses social media to further impact their mission of selling and promoting online works of art. While their website, ugallery.com is primarily aimed for the Artist’s and Buyer’s, they use social media as a tool to display artist’s work in a blog format and post special offer’s/ events. The company uses facebook, twitter, instagram, and pinterest. They recently were a part of Art Basel in Miami last week, which can be seen on all social media. For those viewer’s and fans of UGallery, twitter provides interaction that the other pages don’t. In hopes to find them on LinkedIn, they do have a page but it only has a list of employees. A new feature that ties well with their social media page is featured Curator’s Collections. Overall, I feel that UGallery is able to share their company’s work and media in a variety of ways, each page has a different interface. Therefore, customers and viewers can see the same information on whichever site they prefer.
While on Linkedin, I found Christie’s page to be both appealing and informative. Although it has not been updated in month, their career’s tab feature’s not only a list of available jobs, but a youtube video of a live auction. I feel that they have room for improvement and may want to even create a separate page just for their headquarter’s in NYC.
As far as online publications, I find huffingtonpost:arts&culture and art observed.com or buzz feed.com to be suitable for a PR article. For my thesis idea not only does it relate to arts& culture, it is a new way for artist’s to communicate and display their work online. Huffpost and Buzzfeed are a given when it comes to gaining popularity but what I like about art observed.com is how they are incorporating other media such as twitter (I find this interface to be more appealing).
Linked In: Christie’s
Prototype: “Artuoso”
Revenue Chart
imagcwp journal 
