[BRIEF NOTE] The Death of the Artist?

[rfmcdonald]

From Joseph Wilson's article "Why Moog didn't go digital" in the latest issue of Now:

In the weeks following his death, Moog was credited with everything from sampling in hiphop to the creation of electronic music itself. But what's often forgotten amidst the hagiography is that Moog was uncomfortable with the idea of digital technology replacing more traditional forms of music.

In an interview with Amazing Sounds magazine, he said that with digital synthesizers "there is none of the characteristic warmth and richness of sound that comes from the little" imperfections of analog circuits."

In the printmakers' studio, similar anxieties can be found. Some artists wishing to skirt the arduous process of sanding and etching are using computers to print their creations on high-quality large-format Iris printers.

"The feeling in the industry" says Kinsey, "is that there's always a lingering doubt of effort. How much of the human touch was responsible for what's been created?"

Is this another echo of the ongoing death of the artist as defined by the romantics, an individual who is not a highly-trained artisan but rather an entity capable of works marked by a transcendant creativity?