Discussion Topic: Can an App be Art?

Edward Burtynsky, 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, Gulf of Mexico

The photographer Edward Burtynsky is renowned for his photographs of “industrial ugliness.” Recently, he released a version of his artbook Oil as an app. The photographs highlight the production and the use of oil, from the its extraction to the devastating consequences on our ecosystem. Read the review of the app on Photo District News. Click here for the Oil App Review  Do you think the app can be considered an independent work of art?

Many of the photographs appear in the documentary Manufacturing Landscapes (2006). You can watch a trailer for the documentary here:  Watch the Manufacturing Landscapes trailer here

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8 Responses to Discussion Topic: Can an App be Art?

  1. Reihaneh says:

    To be honest, I really don’t see the invention of apps as an art. They might be a great deal of improvement in technology, but not in art. The only thing that an app could do is to inform more people about a certain thing, that’s all about it. Yes, I might sound harsh, specially as a person whose technological life is kind of devoted to apps, but this is what I believe. Art is a visual way of expressing our feelings and beliefs, and through apps and internet, we could share them with the rest of the people around the world.

  2. renk says:

    i will say app is art, because people that make apps they have to spend a lot of time on that, not only set there, they have to get a lot of different idea to able to created a app that can catch people’s attention. as a art major student i feel that everything can be art, just depends how u think

  3. Janet T. says:

    I think that app can be considered as an art. In my opinion art is not only about painting or drawing. Art can be anything that created by people. I think app is the same thing as any art form; people have to have an idea before they start to crate the whole thing. Like when people start drawing, they also need to think about what to drawing about, and then come up the whole picture. The difference between app and drawing is that, app is created by technology. However, now a day, people also do drawing and painting on computer, so are we consider that computer drawing as art? I think that art is not something that can only be created by hand; it can also create by technology. Also, who can tell what is art really is? I think everyone have different idea on what is art. So the question about “Can an App be Art?” it is all depends on how people think of art.

  4. I think app can be considered as independent work of art but it depend what kind of app it is and the angle the app is being taken. In today era we seen many app around us and many of them taking because people want to improve their business. The reason app can be considered as an work of art is because it could capture an image from above and we could say “wow” that’s art. Art can show many way and tell a story behind it. Most people considered art as a painting, drawing but i think art is something that capture an image in out brain. Something that blew our mind away. Photogaphers are being creative to show the picture they have taken, we could see the image,art that is being taken by them. Making sure they capture every single details of the photho.

  5. justinax8 says:

    An APP alone can’t be art, because art to me is a form of one expressing them selves to others art doesn’t have one meaning it has multiple because an artist does not need to explain his work or tell you what one should think of it. The whole point to art to me is that there is not one way of answering or solving something like a painting, sculpture or even a picture whether its abstract or not, art is there to help you think about things like you never thought about before again not something that needs to be explained or narrowed to one solution. So the “Oil App” by the way it was explained in the Photo District News does not fit my profile of art but rather a device to make it easier to share, purchase art and for the artist to achieve more notoriety therefor it is not art.

  6. Amanda P says:

    I believe that apps can be considered a form of art because graphic designers put a lot of time and effort into creating such apps. Many apps look simple yet behind each app the graphic designer put a lot of thought into it. Apps, in general, should be kept simple and not too busy. At the same time they should catch the attention of the viewer and with a single glance he/she should have a general idea on what the specific app is about, just based on the design itself. Apps are not created over night. It can take weeks to develop a well designed app. Just like an artist can spend days and nights perfecting his/her own piece, same thing goes for designing an app. Usually before an app can be created in computer through indesign or any other program, the designer goes through like a research/thinking process where they do a lot of brain storming basically. They draw out their ideas on paper through thumbnail sketches. A lot of thumbnail sketches are drawn out before the designer reaches the final outcome and is completely satisfied with the end results. When they reach the end result and feel the design communicates visually to the viewer and has all the aspects of an app, then they transfer it onto the computer and perfect it there by adjusting the size, color, etc.

  7. raynier10 says:

    i feel like an app can be art depending on how it is done. because with the designing and building process it can be known as an art. also what if the app is developed to display works of arts. that would make the app itself a piece of art. so to me it all depends on how the app as made as well as the content that was placed into said app.

  8. gursimran23 says:

    I would agree and say yes, an app can be art because just like any other art as paintings there are many apps that are bought or can be used or seen for free. Sometimes when we use apps we do not appreciate the hard work and the talent of the developer. Some apps take skills and special talent but apps keep us entertained like games or help us when we are lost something like google maps. I think if something is made or developed with a purpose then it should be considered an art no matter the quality.

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