I was asked if I thought Digital Art should be allowed in an Art Contest, or Galleries.
I want to know what you think, I'll save my response for later.
About Me
- E.G.Graham
- I am 46 years old and have completed my first novel which I am in the process of finding a agent to represent me. I have been teaching Graphic Arts for eight wonderful years and will probably die with the mouse in my hand, staring into the monitor. Art, music and writing are my favorite things in life. I am married to my beautiful wife Bobbie Jean for almost 24years. I have three cats and no children. We'll who needs children with three cats, I mean, come on!
9 comments:
Just so I understand more clearly, are you talking about a digital slideshow or images that have been manipulated digitally?
I'm talking about any art created for the purpose of printing and enjoying. Art created by placing elements on a page or manipulation of pixels, digital photography, illustration of vector art, any image created to express feeling or mood. The art of creating, just because you want to.
I think the rules for each gallery or contest should dictate what is allowed. I think there will be places for the “purist” who can submit work with no manipulation or in it‘s simplest form. There will be contest for all the people in the “Andy Warhol” apprenticeship that think they can pee in a jar call it a masterpiece. Here is the problem I have. Once the ground rules have been stated and explained what is acceptable, the judges or people in charge of the gallery or contest should judge within the rules stated. I entered a photography contest a couple of months ago and that stated that only the simplest of correction were allowed. The way I understood this was meaning a simple color correction or maybe running curves on the image. In the end, the winner of the contest had many effects on their image. And it was very obvious it had been manipulated from corner to corner. In the end, this persons work should have been disqualified and I shouldn’t have been left scratching my head.
I totally agree with you but I think in the future there will more digital art accepted and that will leave us with the question of how digital art can be separated into categories.
Digital photography is the wave of the future, making it a different venue to traditional film. Does the artist have their own darkroom for developing their film? Most and I use the term loosely, digitize traditional film and then print on “high-end” printers making the traditional film a digital reproduction and many of the processes automatically adjust for color and exposure, further making the traditional film print a digital print.
Here are a few categories I would suggest to the judges of upcoming art events:
• Digital photography
• Digitally painted imagery or pixel manipulation
• Vector illustration
The only underlying problem with the two categories of pixel manipulation and vector illustration is the ability to add textures to the vector art using Photoshop.
I will leave my comments on Andy Warhol for another post, like (can work be considered a work of art?) or something like that.
I think it will simply be a situation whare catogories are used. Have the digital art in a section and have the non-digital art in its own. Then have a best of show. I think thats the only way that those two forms or art can co-exist. Just like in music, you can have best rock catogory and the best r&b, then they have best male or best female. Well thats just one mans thoughts on it.
I think the biggest problem is the art community’s lack of respect for those who choose to use an electronic media in order to express their view of art. My question is, how do artists in particular, change the minds of those who don’t except it as an art form?
I agree. I think that digital art should be allowed in more contests than it is now. I mean, there are people who can manipulate anything to look beautiful and magical and then there are people who can take beautiful pictures beyond imagination. It just varies from contest to contest but I do think there should be more contests for digital. I can tell you this. If there is, I'm sure going to enter them. ^_^
Well the way I see it both forms of art have their place. Really you can not combine the two there is so much a computer can help with. Digital art can be just as good if not better than the fine arts. However they should not be judged in the same categories,it's just not fair. Digital art can manipulate anything and do it alot faster then someone painting an oil painting or carving a stone sculpture. Now if you know for a fact that it is not a manipulation, and the person drew it on the computer freehand then I think that its the same thing. However it is so easy to manipulate and trace on a computer it makes it impossible to tell if the person drew it or traced it. The guidelines of contest should be more specific than what they are. Both are great forms of art but I do not think that you can put them in the same category. What might be art to one person could be garbage to another. Art is truly in the eye of the beholder.
Jonathan
Jonathan, I agree with you to a point but I really hate the word trace and speed when considering if a piece of art is worthy to be called art. First I would like to address the use of the word trace.
Tracing an object has been utilized by almost every great artist in the history of art. Its purpose is to correctly define the proportion of the subject being rendered, painted or sketched. The ability for an artist to master the tools it takes to develop an art form, whether it is a paint brush or the paint brush tool, the pen or pencil to the pen or pencil tool in Photoshop and Illustrator is completely relevant. “a copy made on a superimposed transparent sheet” Miriam Webster Online Dictionary
My assertion is, art must be reproduced not copied to a transparent sheet. If you didn’t have the ability to visualize a subject for painting and the only way you could reproduce it is by using a photo or illustration then does that cheapen your ability to reproduce something that someone could enjoy? I think not. Keep the art unique. I always tell my students that if you are going to create a piece of art and you need a photo to do that, then make sure you are the one taken the picture, it makes it your art, your vision.
I have never considered Andy Warhol an artist, yet he is esteemed as one of the greats. Can my assessment cheapen his influence? I think not. Everyone is entitled to their opinion on who moves them as an artist.
I respect you as a great artist, but some of your digital art that you created in class and out of class in my estimation meet or exceed your talent in other Medias. It is the ability of an artist who renders a drawing or illustration to exact details that makes me encourage them as artist.
I have had students to tell me that they couldn’t have done the art without Illustrator or Photoshop but I have to disagree with them because if they would receive the same instruction in let’s say, watercolor or oils utilizing a regular brush made of boar hairs then they would be able to duplicate their art with time and experience.
We have the old battle of digital cameras versus film cameras, pen and ink versus Adobe Illustrator when I say that it doesn’t matter, art is the expression of the artist and his ability to speak to the world through imagery.
“Art is making something out of nothing and selling it.” Frank Zappa
“Art is the human interaction on a substrate for the purpose of self expression.” Gordan Graham
And you can quote me on that.
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