The mission of FOCUS Magazine is three-fold. First, it’s to promote and share virtual art in the metaverse. Our definition of virtual art includes virtual photography, AI-assisted synthography and game capture art, also known as screen capture. However, because the meaning of virtual art is still so wide and open-ended, we include art that has been assisted by electronic means such as digital drawing. Just as the film camera made the process of creating beautiful images more accessible to a wider population, virtual art is reaching many more people and becoming an artistic outlet that ignites the passion of creativity. It’s this creativity that we want to shine a light on, celebrating the artists and the art.
This is a unique time in art history where technology is playing an enormous role. It’s also unique because of the sheer number of people who are taking part in this art revolution. We don’t need to spend years as a painter’s apprentice or learning the technical aspects of camera use. Instead, with just bit of computing knowledge — which most people have today — a person can begin to use various software to create meaningful artistic expressions. For the first time in art history, conceiving and producing a work of art is more possible to more people than it has ever been. What an exciting time!
Secondly, information about virtual art — such as education, news, updates, and even ethical questions — is hard to find. FOCUS Magazine is one of the largest, ground-breaking platforms to showcase virtual art. We’re dedicated to promoting virtual art, monitoring the fantastic growth of this art medium, and doing our part to lead artists in beneficial and ethical ways. Right now, emotions are high regarding digital art as a whole. Conventional artists fear becoming obsolete. Authorship and copyrightability are major issues that are still unclear and legally unsettled. FOCUS Magazine is a resource for those who are trying to make sense of this perplexing tool.
Lastly, we simply hope to raise awareness about how art of all mediums enhances individuals, society and the environment. Art is a powerful catalyst for positive change in the world. Art has the power to change people’s lives — and communities — forever. We help these artists “shine their own light.” Everyone deserves to explore art and express their creativity. We are a better society for it.
While we are still at the stage where virtual art is being met with some reticence and fear, digital art — including photography created in the metaverse — is quickly becoming an art medium of equal importance and respect. The “grids” of the metaverse, including OpenSimulator and Second Life, attract people who have the means of learning the software necessary to access these grids. Users soon learn that with these simple skills, they can learn to express themselves by creating beautiful images of virtual environments, build virtual worlds, design avatars with unique fashion and even find eager audiences for music and performing arts — all done virtually.
Stable diffusion has also come into the mainstream over the past few years. With A.I., creative people can — as the prompt in Midjourney says — “imagine” artwork, photographs, logos and everything in between. Art created with A.I. has been extremely controversial. While people fear it will put professional graphic artists out of business, at the same time it has made art more inclusive and more accessible to many more people. A person can simply write in descriptive words what kind of image is desired, and voila! Traditional artists and photographers believe this is “cheating.” Nonetheless, stable diffusion is here and here to stay.
FOCUS Magazine educates, excites, encourages and informs of changes happening within our community in a positive and supportive way. We are dedicated to doing our part to make our communities and our world a better place through the power of art, and affecting positive and respectful growth.
Please JOIN US in making people happy and making the world a better place for us all in our small way.
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