'Picasso' Announces Debut Novel CRONUS

Salt Lake City, UT

Although the story itself is fictional, Picasso's debut novel Cronus discusses the reality of an increasingly relevant question: is utility more valuable than art?

As technology, engineering, and science based professions take center stage in corporate America, and modern art connects with smaller, more limited audiences than the art of the past, it becomes reasonable to ask: is art dying? Cronus, the story of a young man who drops his family company and trust fund to pursue a photography career, enlightens readers to the innate value that "art" will always have, although its applications may be changing.

Consider the phenomenon of modern technology. Although the pragmatic use of the smartphone, laptop, GPS, and other technological knick knacks has made these products what they are today, their design- or aesthetic value- is a significant factor in determining their place amongst the competition.

Example: the iPhone. The iPhone does little more than competing brands, yet, the uproar over the launch of generation 5S and 5C trumped that of any Android product. Why? A significant portion of Apple's smartphone success can be attributed to the attention it places on aesthetic quality during the creation and marketing of its product. And based on sales and reviews, the artistic beauty of the iPhone compensates for pragmatic flaws such as screen fragility and low battery life.

Apple's success shows that looks still matter, but where do artists fit into this picture? That's where the multifaceted applications of graphic design, digital art, and other artistic technologies come into play. Today's youth shares photography, art, quotes, and ideas through social media sites such as Tumblr, Reddit, and Twitter, utilizing their artistic and creative ability in their downtime rather than applying it at school and work. Perhaps this is because of the growing mentality that art and practicality do not go hand in hand.

This misconception is far from the truth. Today's technologically based society requires talented artists to give products the aesthetic value consumers desire. Companies of many varieties utilize social media sharing of high-quality auditory, verbal, and visual messages to catch the attention of today's artistically keen youth. Furthermore, artistic expression with no secondary "function" fulfills this inherent human desire to watch, listen to, and experience beauty.

Hence, there is still a place in the world for art. Picasso's Cronus brings this issue to light, inspiring a long overdue discussion of art's place in modern society.

Cronus hits book stores Summer of 2014. More information about the novel and author is available at https://www.facebook.com/stephmanova. Want to add to the discussion? Tweet #Cronus. Photography copyright Celi Haslam.