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As technology becomes more sophisticated and pervasive, it’s more important than ever to stay connected to other human beings. Used well, technology can support that goal.

I was just re-reading an excellent column on this theme by Gerry McGovern: Technology not answer to every problem (New Thinking, Dec. 6, 2004). He observed, “Very few websites I come across are giving enough attention to human interaction. There is an expectation that the website should solve every problem in every situation. This approach is not going to work. There are certain things that people are better at, and organizations need to realize that the human touch, properly applied, is a valuable asset.”

I see this very clearly in my husband’s portrait business…

My husband, Tom Vilot, runs a portrait business called Painted Snapshot. It’s unusual because he works in a digital artistic medium – people send him their treasured photographs, and he uses a digital painting process to completely recreate them as original works of art. This process is an offshoot of techniques he uses in his fine artwork.

Over the last couple of years, it’s been very interesting watching Tom’s commercial and fine art evolve – particularly how people respond to it.

ART IS DEEPLY HUMAN

Art is about personal feelings, perspectives, and expression. It’s as much about the audience as it is about the artist or the subject. The medium is just that – a means of connection between the artist and the audience. This is why a painting is not about the paint or brushes, and a digital painting is not about the computer.

Early in Tom’s career as a digital fine artist, he encountered some resistance from galleries and other aspects of the fine art “establishment.” A common question he heard on these occasions was, “So these pieces are computer-generated, right?”

ARRRRRGHHHHH!!!!! When it comes to new media, sometimes artists and gallery owners can be the most remarkably close-minded people!

…Over the last few years, digital work has become more accepted in the art world, so at least Tom is not having to justify his choice of media as much as before.

Interestingly, in his commercial portrait venture, Tom’s customers (who generally are not denizens of the rarified “art world,” just regular people from all walks of life) have not shown much resistance to the fact that he works in digital media. Often they don’t immediately grasp the nature of digital painting, but it’s not difficult to explain the basics. To them, the most important aspect about digital painting is that a skilled artist is creating every aspect of the image – and that the end product is a museum-quality, archival print on fine materials.

Surprisingly, the fact that Tom works in digital media actually gives him a significant human-connection advantage over portrait artists who work in traditional media. When working on a portrait, he e-mails proof images of the work-in-progress to each client, in order to get suggestions and comments. This allows his clients to directly collaborate in the creation of the portrait. They love that!

TALKING TO THE AUDIENCE

I saw this very clearly this past weekend. Tom exhibited both his fine art and several examples of finished Painted Snapshot prints at Beatnik Coffee in Ft. Collins, CO – part of a new monthly “Art Walk” event in that city. I had the opportunity to observe many people who were encountering his work for the first time in printed form, rather than finding his site on the internet.

Generally, these people were not aware that Tom’s paintings were created with digital tools until I mentioned it to them. A few indicated surprise at this, but most people didn’t care. They cared about the quality of the artistry. The word that kept coming up over and over in these conversations was “warm.” Those portraits touched these viewers on a visceral and emotional level.

The primary experience of that work was human – the involvement of technology was incidental. I’d even say it was unimportant, except that when I mentioned to people how digital media allowed them to collaborate in the creation of a portrait, people got interested and even excited. What mattered most to them was the connection and the expression. I wasn’t surprised to see that, but I was surprised by the intensity of this reaction.

INVOLVEMENT, EXPRESSION, AND VULNERABILITY

Commissioning a work of art is deeply personal, and generally people want to feel involved in that process. They want to contribute more than a source image and their credit card. They want that portrait to become their expression, too. It’s quite touching to see how enthusiastic most of Tom’s clients are about collaborating. During that process, all kinds of stories come out about why that particular image is important. They color the portrait with the context of their lives and hearts. They paint themselves into the picture, in a literal although subtle way.

To me, this is a classic example of how sophisticated technology can help people connect to each other in deeply meaningful ways that usually weren’t possible before.

I see these types of connections happen every day, but not mainly through corporate or organizational web sites. I see it happening in discussion forums, on weblogs, in podcasts, and in private e-mail. I see the potential for content management and knowledge management tools to humanize connection over a distance or across time.

Sadly, the bigger picture of why we want and need to connect with other people, in every sphere of human interaction (even business) often gets lost in the details of tools, money, and processes. I think this is because our deep need to connect reminds us that we are vulnerable human beings, that by connecting we are risking exposure. Personally, I think the over-emphasis on quantifiable externalities such as software, databases, transactions, business models, processors, etc. serve a critical but unacknowledged function: emotional buffer.

That’s OK – that emotional buffer is there for a good reason. However, we should acknowledge that it exists. Simply acknowledging that buffer will allow us to more easily see past it (and reach past it) when human connection is most important.

Tom’s customers rarely ask detailed questions about his software, hardware, printer, papers, and inks. They have no problem accepting that the technology exists in order to aid their expression. They’ve got their priorities straight.

There’s a big lesson in that, especially for those of us immersed in the details of technology, communication, and business.