Japanese Contemporary Media Art

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Artist: Fontosaurus
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"Thus what art means to society is subject to change within the network of influences." - Device Art: A New Approach in Understanding Japanese Contemporary Media Art by Machiko Kasahara
This statement is quite intriguing because it suggests that even though artists create pieces that represent their views on society, society determines what "art" is. This means that as new technologies develop, the way society views and interprets art will change. Therefore, a piece that may have been viewed as successful years ago might be viewed by someone today, who is technologically savvy and unfamiliar with older artwork, as unsuccessful. In addition to how art is changing, there is no longer a distinct border line between art that is for entertainment or for commercial purposes.
Just as artists from the West approached the making of art, Japanese artists also followed the same concept. This was and is to question value systems that exist and to create a new way to deal with the changes that are occurring in society. It is interesting to note that the "notion" of art being something other than visual fine art did not exist until the second half of the nineteenth century when Japan began to become modernized by Western influences.
Later on in the 1970's, with the modernization of art in Japan, confusion accompanied a type of art called intermedia art which was confused with technological art. By the 1960's Japanese art stylistically represented Euro-American art. Japanese art resembled that of Western art by means of the modernization that occurred after the 1940's.