Intermediality and Art

                                                        Intermedility and Art

       In Wolf’s Essay “Intermediality Revisited – Reflections on Word and Music Relations in the Context of a General Typology of Intermediality” he states that music is presented and regulated by the media, and thereby becoming what we consider recognized art. Wolf attempts to do two things concerning intermediality: first, to study co-existing types of art so they can be defined in a comprehensible way and second, to branch out intermedia studies so the outer existing types of art have a place within the conventional circle of intermediality. Intermediality is a circle in which popular art forms exist within the circle and unpopular art forms exist outside of it.

       Wolf suggests that certain types of art can only have a place within the intermediality circle if it is researched and not given to limited analysis. The need for people to debunk unpopular modes of art is due to their lack of familiarity with it. Limited analysis is the only thing that impedes the acceptance of bohemian art forms within the mainstream. There are certain bridges which Wolf defines as transmedial which connect art forms together by combining them. The person who makes the new art and the way in which they perceive it is known as intercompositional intermediality because it is internal. For example, combining spoken word poetry with another art form like music will create a new art form altogether which could be outside of the circle at first, and then later in time accepted by culture and accepted within the circle of intermediality. External Intermediality is the way in which media and other people perceive the art, for it is external. We as a culture have seen these modes of transmedial work through generations of different modes of art and how different generations of people perceive it, through means of conception and generalization.


       Wolf notes that intermedial transposition is a way in which people take forms of art and relate it to themselves or create art based off of another piece of art. Examples of this would be a novel adapted into a film and then composed into a musical, or Mozart basing one piece of music off of another composer. Wolf states that there is still much work to be done when it comes to “text-centered” intracompositional intermediality as there are still many works yet to be exposed and analyzed.


       Thus intermedial Transposition and Intermediacy as a whole has been around since the beginning of art. Only recently have terms been created for it and only recently have we separated bohemian art forms in massive cultures such as our own. I agree with Wolf’s essay in that intermediality should have more of a horizon than what already exists. Everything in time has changed or adapted; for example, in the 1950's we see a direct correlation between popular culture, media and art. The world became a youth oriented society post world war because of many changes in economics, culture, politics and the rapid development of technology. As an example, the development of plastics and inexpensive, portable electronics (such as the desktop radio and portable record player) combined with Rock and Roll music and its messages of young lust and adventure gave way to youth consumerism and counterculture respectively. This interdependence can also be applied to the relationship between the new popularity of television programs and commercials and its influence on fashion, trends, and visual arts. Media such as TV, radio, magazines and advertising were rapidly expanding with technological advances and at the same time increasing its impact on how society would be introduced to what is considered art. So with new forms of technology we as individuals can determine what is considered art and what is allowed in our personal circle of intermediality. As for people who accept socially accepted forms of media and how they perceive the world, what they consider to be personally accepted could be unchangeable.


1) What are your thoughts on the criteria of something being known as art?
2) Will new technologies change peoples perceptions regarding Intermediality and what is outside the circle?






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