The Evolution of Art in Society

A Chronological Pictorial of Female Sexuality

Compiled By Justin Hartfield

The origins of art itself are little known. We know that artistic expression has been around at least 32,000 years, as evident by these cave paintings from the Ice Age.

What's clear is that it's just as natural for man to produce art as it is a bird to sing or an ant to build.

The first major evolution in art came with the advent of paper. Cave art and clay sculptures were replaced by paint and paper. The advantage of paper was that it was portable and allowed artists to express their unique perspective and get paid for it through the sale of their canvases. The medium of paper would dominate for many thousand years (albeit in a variety of forms like: Illuminated manuscripts, scrolls and books).

The next evolution came with the advent of the computer (and more accurately, Photoshop). This medium, while still in its infancy, is already exploding with innovative artists pioneering new ways to create new types of art seemingly every week. For example, this beautiful work was made by blending photography and print:

The computer has unlocked an unprecedented number of new ways for artists to creatively express themselves through their work.

The latest evolution of art has come from the internet. The sheer amount of knowledge and text available to the artist is staggering. This allows for an even greater perspective and gives the artist the ability to incorporate an unprecedented amount of depth and knowledge into their work. Imagine the work of Leonardo da Vinci's if he had access to the internet!

Never before have artists had the kinds of tools they have now. The work of an artist is even more meticulous and technical today than in years past because the technology they often interact with requires them to be so. And the tools are getting more sophisticated daily.

If the overall effectiveness of society is any way related to the quality of art its inhabitants produce, I'm proud to say the society we live in now is working on at least one level. Unquestionably, art is enjoying a second Renaissance.

This new era of creativity is all thanks to capitalism. Think about it. Capitalism allowed the IBM R&D department to build the first mass consumer-targeted computers. Capitalism created the incentive for Xerox to begin developing graphical user interfaces (since they legitimately feared at the time the computer would make paper obsolete). Capitalism even created the incentive for young entrepreneurs like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs to create innovative software to work on top of the hardware.

Ironically, all of the breakthroughs in art and creative expression today come from the work of clumsy scientists and impatient businessmen. What first came about as the ultimate business tool has transformed itself into the ultimate artistic expression tool.

But not everything is rosy in the art world today. Apparently, governments from around the world are doing their best to ruin art on the internet. Billed as the "Child Online Protection Act" in the US, (see a complete list of internet censorship bills here) government bills (authored by ofttimes immoral politicians attempting to dictate morality fall somewhere between a tragedy and a comedy depending on your cynicism level.

See, when governments go about the business of censoring 'offensive' material, art is almost certainly included in the mix because it usually represents ideals which are in direct opposition to those of a government. But when the artists in a society are unable to evolve past certain imposed societal limits, the society is no longer growing. And we know from biology that something no longer growing is in the process of dying.

Evolution is clearly the path that nature has intended, and there's little use fighting nature since in the end, it always wins. This isn't bad or wrong or anything superficial. It's simply a fact that government has a very difficult time respecting. Inhibiting personal creativity is denying a basic human freedom, and that should never be tolerated. 

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