Virtual Self Portrait: I see myself in each member of my family

Photography Reborn Excerpt

This excerpt discusses the ways portraiture has changed in recent years. The author explains that there is "turning away from representing the individual," and a new emphasis on manipulation and transformation of an individual. The author discusses how digital photography has changed the nature of portraiture. While in regular film photography the body is often a symbol of the self, in digital photography the body is often distorted. 

One interesting point that is made os how digital photography is perfectly suited for our culture. We have a "peculiar fascination with celebrity," and the ways in which those celebrities' appearances change from day to day like a "shimmering illusion." The author claims that for this reason digital photography is deal for this age in which the body itself is an unstable and changeable object. 

I also found it interesting to think of the photograph as a storytelling device. This is mostly true for film photography, though in the digital age we can no longer look to photographs to tell us the truth. You never know when you are simply viewing a photoshop fairytale as opposed to an actual scene from an actual place in time. Digital technology has infact "changed the story," and this can be fun and whimsical, but it is not the source of truth it once was. As I am new to blogging, I also found it interesting to learn that the word "blog" comes from "web log." You learn something new every day.

Chapter 1, Digital Art by Christiane Paul

The author begins the chapter by stating the belief that digital art will eventually absorb all other artistic media. I agree that this will happen but it saddens me in a way. I suppose that, as long as some people continue to make art the "old-fashioned" hands-on way, that it isn't sad. But to think that all art will have a digital element to it is sad. I am a believer that art work that has been hand-crafted-be it photographs processed by hand in the darkroom, paintings created with actual brushes and paint, drawings with charcoal that has been smudged by real fingers, sculptures that have been molded with the palms of someone's hands, or pots that have been spun on the wheel with the kick of a foot and show indentations made by one's unique fingerprints-they all possess a certain energy that is transmitted from the artist to the piece. With mass-production and the possibility of simple digital reproduction there is something lost...the "aura" as the author refers to it. 

This is not to say that digital art itself can't be artistic and cool and have a soul all its own. I am just speaking in terms of the digital medium "absorbing" other media. Some of the artist discussed in chapter one are very intriguing. I especially like Charles Cohen's white silhouettes. By taking the actual image of the person, or people, a mysterious piece is created. If I did not know form the reading that these images were from pornographic material I would not know what to think at first. The negative space becomes the subject and I like how that plays on the idea of traditional images. 

Introduction of Digital Art by Christiane Paul

Better late than never.......It is interesting to think that the foundations of digital art were laid nearly sixty years ago. With the creation of the World Wide Web and its subsequent popularity which boomed in the 90's, digital art seems a more recent artistic medium. But, in actuality, as soon as the computer was invented, it was used for creative purposes by engineers and scientists who were also artists or were collaborating with artists. Memorable artists such as Marcel DuChamp contributed to the digital medium with their mechanical works, some of which were interactive.

At this point, the digital medium is so widespread. One could argue that it is by far the most popular artistic medium in existence. Perhaps this is because it can draw on the characteristics of every other artistic medium. You can paint, draw, or photograph anything and pull it up on the computer screen to be altered and enhanced. Because it can encompass all other media while still providing plenty of strictly digital processes as well, this medium will surely continue to grow and be used by more and more artists of all backgrounds.