How Contemporary Art Redefined the Meaning of Art Media - Essay Example

Mary Flanagan was able to emphasize that art as a whole is related to the human’s inner self by creating a program called “[collection]” (Getlein 520). It is a collage of images throughout the web being done through a computer program, which resembles how human processes and retains information. This type of information retention is what Carl Jung would call the collective subconscious of the human mind (Getlein 521). Flanagan was able to capture this human essence by showcasing images that were captured and uploaded by many internet users, making her [collection] resemble a human’s brain storing a lot of images and still able to absorb new ones along the way.

As a medium and subject, the computer shows the collective unconscious of most people, like how art galleries have collections from different artists. The computer is also utilized by Flanagan as a place, like the human mind. Since it is considered a part of the human body, the computer and internet are also seen as separate places where people can be together without physically being with one another. By sharing their experiences with the world, they are able to create a place that is able to accommodate any kind of person since there would be at least one similar person that would be sharing an experience that another person can relate to.

Like traditional art, it brings people closer through similarities in their collection of experiences and the images that they have seen, making the digital realm an extension of the human perception of art.