How Technology Is Transforming & Challenging The Live Performing Arts: Ben Cameron Speaks At TED
In this TED talk, Ben Cameron, who is Director, Arts, at the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, talks about the state of the live arts and questions whether or not they can compete with the always-on Internet. He is immensely passionate about the professional performing arts and worries that they are being endangered and possibly even dismantled by technology. Within the whirlwind of 3 to 5,000 marketing messages that the typical consumer is battered with every day, he fears that the promotions for the live arts are being down out completely.
Worse still, Cameron argues that the biases of the web towards instant and anytime gratification have positioned the appeal of the arts to be inconvenient.
With consumers habituated to the notion that they can watch their favorite shows anytime they want and purchase things—having them directly shipped to their door—how are the live arts supposed to convince them to continue buying tickets in advance and to show up at a time and date that are ill-timed for their schedule?
These expectations of modern consumerism have conditioned people and have, in turn, raised the bar to a point that the live arts simply can’t meet, because they still come with a $100 ticket and set-times—that can’t be changed or TiVoed.
As well, he talks in length about the evolution of cultural intuitions and outlines how technology is reshaping the difference between the professional artist and the amateur. This is fantastic talk and it’s not to be missed:
Gangster rap artist……Kirk Franklin??!? He lost me there.
Also, I think the draw to live performance is simply this:
Listening to the Berlioz Requiem on YouTube cannot even begin to compare to seeing the Berlioz Requiem live.
I agree. I do not think that technological advancements will ever replace live art, that is, until they come out with a virtual reality device where one can view the performance in real time and experience it with his cronies.
I would say that the majority of a live performance is the ambiance. It is kind of like going to a live comedy show; with the masses of people laughing their asses off, regardless of the material, you too will find it hilarious.
There is something sentimental about going to an over crowded venue, immersed in funky smells,and giving your buddy that look as if to say, “This is what’s up.” Sure consumers are being hit hard by ticket costs, but a live performance is something that will never be matched by the likes of a TiVoed performance.