Essay

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In this essay I will look at how beneficial the web 2.0 has become to artists of this day and age. I will be focusing particularly on the use of blogs by artists and how they act as a niche for upcoming artists to show case their talent, may it be fine art, music, fashion or poetry, and in return receive comments and criticism from their followers.
I have chosen to look at three blogs in particular: a South African blog called between 10and5 , a Kenyan blog called kenyanpoet and a London based blog called behindthescence. By studying these three blogs I will be able to compare the differences and similarities between there blogging styles as well as presentation styles.


The web 2.0 came about as an advance from the world wide web, no actual changes where made to the world wide web only additions which in turn has seen internet usage become more interactive for its users. Applications such as chat rooms, video sharing (e.g. YouTube ), blogging (e.g. Twitter ), and social networking sites (e.g. Facebook) are a few of the new additions making up the web 2.0. A blog refers to a space on the web 2.0 that is usually maintained by one or more persons, by posting regular thoughts, graphics or video’s onto a blog page. These blog pages can be followed and comments can be contributed by friends, fans or people with interests alike. In terms of art, blogs have become a space for artists to exhibit there works, promote themselves as well as other artists. Having a blog allows a follower or fan into the more personal spaces of an artist, the blogger will make regular posts on their thoughts, new work, up and coming exhibitions, gigs, or even controversial media coverage, everything is aimed at informing these followers or fans of what’s happening in the present.


The first blog I will look at called ‘behindthescene ’ is run by South Africans living in London. This blog is maintained and run by a creative company called ‘World War Won’ (WWW). WWW do advertising, graphic design, hold exhibitions, as well as create and sell paintings. When first entering this site I was immediately drawn to the lay out of the blog, being a new blog user the format of the blog was incredibly easy to follow: company name on left hand side with links into WWW’s web page, posts down the centre of the page, and most popular posts down the right hand side. The content of the page is very interesting, as well as amusing. As the page is run by South African’s who have recently relocated to London the posts are generally based on the new discoveries they have made in London for example ‘well informed’, an amusing articles on the events of the London underground, and ‘Chanel No.5’ an article on the queens decision to brand London’s street lamps with the famous logo. The blog content also contains controversial media coverage such as ‘Drawing on Walls’ an article based on the removal of, artist, Banksey’s famous work of the royal family by the city council.
The format of the posts are as follows: an image or article followed by a comment by WWW, on a few occasions they have quoted magazines or lyrics, but for the most part the ideas and thoughts of WWW are central to the blog. Followers are not able to add their own comments to the page but contact details are provided by WWW if one would like to share ideas. The blog page is updated regularly every 2-3 days and on many occasions more than one post a day has been added. Something unique to this specific blog is their clever tag line ‘God save the Dream’; this very appropriate tag line ends off every post made on the blog.


The second blog I will be looking at is a Kenyan based blog called ‘kenyanpoet- a Kenyan artistic space ’. This blog is a space used to showcase Kenyan art, music, poetry, writing as well as emerging art trends. On entering this page I was quit over whelmed with the amount of text on it, every post on this blog is written in the same format as a magazine or newspaper article would be. There is a very diverse range of stories, anything from Kenyan theatre companies to poetry open mic nights to born free foundation art competitions. I like how descriptive the writers are, allot of the posts seem to be existing texts which are posted and maintained by a user named ‘N.W.’, unfortunately no other information is given about N.W. as his/her profile is withheld. The layout of the page has nothing that would typically be a representation of African art; I found the design of the page could have been more symbolic of its heritage or purpose. On the right hand column of the page are the most recent stories posted on kenyanpoets twitter page and links to these articles, as well as other blogs that have similar subject matters that one can become apart of. Most of the posts have links embedded within it, which makes it very easy for a follower to view more photographs, video’s or research a topic further. The ‘Kenyanpoet’ is solely dedicated to the arts in Kenya (e.g. upcoming gigs and exhibitions) which does make it somewhat exclusive, a South African wouldn’t really have much interest in visiting it other than an interest in the poetry or a featured artist of Kenya. The site seems to be a moderately active judging by the amount of comments that have been left after each post; the posts are also updated often on average about 3 times a week.


Thirdly I will be looking at a South African based blog called ‘between 10and5’. This blog is a space for South African artists to showcase their work, making it accessible to the creative industry of South Africa. Their name, ‘between 10and5’, refers to the amount of work a creative can submit onto the site. This site is a place for freelancers, illustrator, agencies and artists to promote their work to the rest of the industry. The formats of the posts are quite uniformed despite the fact that any one can contribute to this blog. The posts consist of an image or video followed by some text explaining it. The image, in most cases, acts as a link to a web site that supply more information on the topic, or is the official web site or blog .The simplistic design of the page makes it look professional and easy to follow. On the right hand column of the blog there are ‘extended categories’ that one could enter, e.g. photography, print, agencies and banners. Each of these extended categories lead you to the submissions of other bloggers of their creative work, one can view the work as well as read about the artist or company. What is nice is that anyone can post comments on the work viewed which makes this blog very interactive. This blog differs from other blogs as it has multiple layers to it, apart from the recent posts on what’s happening in the art world in South African as well as the rest of the world, one can explore the work of other creative’s by category. The idea that one can browse fields of art that interest them makes this blog more appealing to a wider variety of people. Between 10and5 uses Facebook as a way of advertising their blog or events posted on their blog, beneath every post one has the option to share the url address with their friends through their Facebook status. It is also an option to become a fan of between 10and5 on Facebook in the right hand column of the blog. This is a smart way of getting the word out about a blog, especially for a blog like this one where the more people that participate the better. So far the blog seems to be very active judging by the amount of posts which happen daily.


The three blogs that I have looked at differ according to their purpose and target market, but what they all have in common is that they all act as an up to date representation of the art world we live in now. This is such an important culture for upcoming artists to be apart of in order to keep on par with the rest of the world. The three blogs I have looked at in this essay one European, one Kenyan, and one South African each represent the art culture of their country/cities they are based in, showcasing and allowing for a comparison to be made with the rest of the world. The styles of the blogs vary in terms of layout as well as aesthetically, each blog is suited to its intention as well as what they are promoting.


Through blogging a new era of art has been born, we are now able to more freely express ourselves through art and share it with 100’s of 1000’s of people just by the click of the finger. With that in mind it is fare to say that the web 2.0 and the ‘culture’ of blogging have opened up a new dimension of possibilities to artists and creative’s alike.