The Definition of Art in Reference to the Post-Modern Advent of Digital Imagery - Dissertation Example

?Digital art: The definition of art in reference to the post-modern advent of digital imagery as materials for artistic creation Introduction Multimedia art has the problem, at times, at finding a niche in which to be defined from its counterpart of craftwork. Multi-media pieces use some of the same techniques as art, as well as some of the same materials, but defining the difference between what is art and what is merely craft is a gap that is slowly, but steadily closing as technological advances create generations of individuals who share technical use of different equipment with artists, but are not necessarily defined as artists. Therefore, it is important to understand how a piece of work becomes a piece of art, and to what purpose that label provides to society. One of the first tools that provided this narrowing of the gap between the artist and the crafter is the camera. Photographic art is defined by parameters that society has set in order to assign value to one photograph over another. However, people from all walks of life and with a variety of intentions have cameras and take photographs, some sharing aspects of artistic quality of those taken by people whose work is considered art. Therefore, it is sometimes difficult to create definitive separations between those who use the same types of equipment and create the same kinds of work. Two artists that can be used to discuss the development of digital art are Chuck Close and David Hockney. Chuck Close imitates the digital form, his paintings recreating the digital world through painstaking techniques that create startling realism. One of the finest examples of digital art that can be seen through the manipulation of photographic images is in the work of David Hockney. The narrative that is created through his form of collage he called ‘joiners’ creates a reflection of cubism, the individual pieces of the work creating a sense of communication. Defining Art The digital world is a place where the amateur has been given the opportunity to create work that is as expressive as the professional, artistic creations being made with the need for technical skills, at least in the way of tangible elements being put into the works, eliminated and replaced with user friendly tools. Most people have embraced the use of computer technologies, meaning that now almost anyone has the capacity to create art without having to brush paint, form clay, or construct true form. The virtual world is a malleable place which recreates the imagery of three dimension or allows for the manipulation of elements and forms. This means that not only the concept of a true artist is in contrast to a crafter has been permanently blurred, but it means that much of the physical needs of the artist can possibly be replaced with a medium that strips away the need for physical skill, replacing it with intellectually learned skills, the medium diminishing the need to know how to manipulate the real. A digital environment abstracts the fallibility of the human stroke against the canvas and replaces it with an opportunity for perfection. Creating art in a digital world can allow the artist to bypass some of the frustrations that can occur when the creation isn’t reflecting the vision so that the intent of the work can more easily and readily come through to the viewer. Digital art can also allow the artist to take what could not be rendered to perfect expression and refine it to reflect the intended vision. When the human mechanics can not create something that has the nuance that a digital work has, then the artist must consider to the use of digital enhancement to create what is envisioned. The artist is given a broader number of tools in which to manipulate his expressions, those tools requiring a different type of technical knowledge that was not in previous history available. The artists skills are relevant in a different way, not through his or her expertise with simple tools, but with his or her ability to use common tools of the technical age. What will define the artist under these circumstances is how he or she chooses to use the technology rather than how his or her skills renders the imagery. The question remains, then, as to what defines an artist in this digital age. One of the first ways in which this question was faced in history was when photography became both a common activity and an artistic activity. While photography can be an art, not everyone who picks up a camera is an artist. A photograph becomes artistically relevant through a series of aspects that are judged for how they contribute to its value. The same is relevant to digital art. The digital artist must find a point of view and have an editorial perspective. The digital artist takes skills associated with photography one step farther, creating pieces that have meaning that is based upon theory with elements and aspects of communication that is intended to promote value through intellectual stimulation. Defining art is a difficult prospect. The shock value of the painting Olympia by Manet is lost on a modern artist (Fig 1). However, if the historical relevance of the painting and the various aspects that were considered shocking are studied, then the shock value becomes relevant (Margolis 1987, p. 90). Art is defined within cultural context, created with the modern viewer in mind, lasting when the continued history of a culture assigns the piece value. An example of this can be seen within the beautiful white marble sculptures from Greece and Rome, however when created they were painted, an addition to the sculpture that might have been deemed unattractive throughout the ages. Fig 1 Edouard Manet Olympia, 1863 (Nelson and Shiff 2003, p. 190) Art is defined by a number of factors, all or none of which may or may not have relevance to the work that is being judged. This makes the concept philosophically difficult to grasp and utilize in promoting a piece of work for its artistic value. However, the philosophy of art has been discussed at length throughout the ages, thus creating some framework from which to judge a piece of work. According to Margolis (1987) “What counts as a work of a art must be discovered by examining the practice of art” (p. 90). Art is a cultural phenomenon and must be judged within the cultural context in which it communicates its intended meaning. This is exampled within the changes that have been experienced in the last one thousand years. There was a time when art was considered representative of aesthetics, but in the modern era, art need not have aesthetics, but have valuable communicative properties, even if what is being communicated is anti-art as in the Modernist period. Therefore, the concept of art will change as the culture and context changes in which it exists. It is not relevant to when it is made, but in when it is judged. Some art has the ability to last for centuries and impress upon whatever current culture is in possession of it and is viewing the work, the communication as it relates to the time period translated in historical context combined with contemporary points of view. Culture will infect a piece of art, transform it into a reflection of what has been assigned to the work in relationship with the cultural points of view. A piece of work becomes an interactive thing, alive in communication with the culture that surrounds and sees the work, bringing with it the reflections of its past as reinterpreted within the present. The definition of art, then, can perhaps be defined by the importance that is assigned to the work and the way in which it can be interpreted within a society. Art is defined by those who assign the term to the work, the rendering made relevant by the meaning that is assigned to it by the culture that is judging its value. An example of this can be seen within the cave paintings that are found in various areas throughout the world, including in Lascaux, France where depictions of hunting concepts can be seen on the walls. The modern convention is that this is prehistoric art, that it is defined by the way in which it portrays an aspect of the human experience that was in existence at a time when very little other recorded history was available. The work has no distinct purpose, but can be interpreted for a variety of different values. It could have been as simple as a type of sign to others about what could be found in the surrounding areas. In this age, the signs that are on the road that help travelers interpret their location are not considered art, but even though these paintings may have been signs to others in much this same manner, our culture sees them and assigns artistic value to the work. Cave painting, Lascaux, France, ca. 15,000-10,000 BC (Jandon and Janson 2003, p. 142) It is not the point to argue what is not art, but to argue that the value of a piece is determined by the society that judges the work. Assigning the term art to something that has been created may or may not give it that value, depending on who else provides a framework about the piece and how it is accepted within the society. Digital work has taken on the mantle of art and is rising in its importance and popularity amongst artists and critics of art. Therefore, looking at work of artists who have used the medium, either alone or in combination with other mediums, provides a framework in which to understand one’s own work. Some of the value of digital art is in reframing societies idea of how art can be defined. The use of the camera to create art, to step beyond the place where an image is created to the place where the photographs become the materials rather than the objects of creation, is an innovation in art that has brought the concept of art into a new age of creation. As the work forms a narrative, the pieces of imagery become linguistic aids in which the language of the art is formed. One of the innovators of this change in the concept of how an image is used is David Hockney. The work of Hockney provides a beginning framework to understand the digital age of artistic innovation. David Hockney David Hockney is an important British artist whose contributions to art include the use of Polaroid collage work and photomontages that became defined by the look of creating, among the many subjects, portraitures out of repeated photographs. Through the use of photographs taken at slightly different angles, he creates collages that have the affect of cubism, the work looking slightly disjointed and out of step. He called the concept ’joiners’, as the pieces are joined together to create a whole work. Through the use of this technique, he found within the pieces he created a narrative, a story that was told through the varied angles in which the image was composed (Reinelt and Roach 1992, p. 109). What might be random to those without a trained eye is actually a carefully composed piece of work with each piece having meaning in the way that it is selected and placed. The relationship of one piece to the next helps the context of the meaning change, the whole piece designed to have a multitude of points of view creating a language that speaks to the viewer. The surface of the work is ‘slippery’, unable to fix the focus of the eye as it slides over the work. From a structuralism point of view, the work of the joiner form meaning through the relationships that are formed by the placement of each piece, while from the point of view of deconstructive the unsettling way that the pieces are autonomous defies the concept of finding meaning within the composition (Reinelt,and Roach 1992, p. 109). According to Reinelt and Roach (1992) “the single photos are the meaning units, which are linked to visual, perceptual, and aesthetic codes and practices, enabling them to product the overall collage” (p. 110). The Hockney work creates a sense of language, the interpretations developed through the relationships that the images create to one another. The images are flat, but have a sense of time as each photo is not shot at the same time as the next. David Hockney Chair, 1985 (Hockney and Melia 1995, p. 128) In the work Nude, the pieces reveal movement and create a dialogue with the viewer. Scott (1999) states that “the repetition (of hands, mouth, feet) produces visual oscillation and flickering. We realize that the fixations of pornography are no longer visually available to us; the image paradoxically preoccupies the eye, increases the eye’s investigative activity, and yet does so in such a way that the image becomes an optical illusion, a mirage on the run from the eye” (p. 227). The ability to create language through the use of the different angles and perspectives communicates to the viewer and can create meaning where none might be expected. David Hockney Nude, 1984 (Scott 1999, p. 226) The Material of Digital Product Stepping into the digital art world is first made through realizing that the digital product that is created can be used as a material in the creation of art, not as the image object of art. An individual image can be used and manipulated in order to be inserted into a larger piece of work, the language of the work being enhanced by the semiotic value of the piece, but the piece itself used as a component. The individual image can be seen as the paint, the application of it the same as the application of paint, textile, or clay. The material value of the work becomes something different than the objectification of the image on the piece. The repeatability and multiplication of the image makes it as usable as any other material that can add to a work just as more tubes of paint can add to a painting. The stroke on the canvas is made through the coloration of the image, a component that speaks as an individual unit of language in a larger dialogue. One of the reasons that digital art sometimes has a difficult time creating credibility is because of the ease with which an image can be manipulated by anyone who can learn to use the software (Miller 2008, p. 8). However, when looking at the concept of the ’joiner’ work that was done by Hockney, it can be seen that the image is rarely now the result, but the first step towards the work. In the same way that anyone can learn to use the software that creates digitally enhanced product, anyone has access to the paint that a painter will use. This does not mean that anyone can paint a Picasso or a Degas. This means that the materials are readily available - it is the communication that is created through the use of those materials that develops artistic value. Another argument that is made against the validity of digital art is that there is no such thing as an existing original (Miller 2008, p. 9). The uniqueness of a piece has no tangible presence as the digital image is reproducible in mass quantities from its inception. Therefore, there is no original, thus its value as a unique piece of art is in question. The piece becomes subject to mass production, a true reflection of the post-modern age, but without the high level of created desire within the culture that a unique piece of art can provide. The entire concept of uniqueness where art is concerned might be considered obsolete, thus changing something of the nature of art. There is some support for the negativity surrounding digital art in claiming that there is no digital aesthetic. This is claimed because it cannot be easily accounted for through formal parameters and has no ties to one structure of meaning (Niekirk 2003, p. 100). However, this claim suggests that there must be formal parameters and ties to one meaning, but one of the most interesting aspects of art is that it can defy all formalities of meaning, thus reinventing the way that the viewer must act as the spectator and challenging convention so that the world is lifted to a new level of thought. However, just as Kant has suggested that aesthetic beauty does not reside in the subject, but in the interpretation of the person who is viewing the subject, the concept of digital aesthetic is subject to the interpretation of the individual (Bowie 2003, p. 16). As an argument to the premise that there is no digital aesthetic Niekirk (2003) states that “The crucial aspect is something distinctly different, namely the rational prism through which we initially become spectators of the essence and epistemology of art” (p. 100). He goes on to say that art is art because it just is, that the members of a culture seem to gravitate towards this conclusion communally, thus definitions will never fully embrace that which is embraced by the general cultural understanding of how to recognize art. Chuck Close Chuck Close uses the inspiration of the affects of digital processing in order to create works of art that are astoundingly real. Along with techniques of photorealism in his painting, he takes astounding photographic portraits that reveal the truth of someone, the hard edges and lines that are more often eliminated in a portrait. Realism is the word that best describes a vast majority of his work, from the pointillism to the photography that communicates more than just the image of someone’s face. Chuck Close Frank, 1974 (Close, Hickey, and Kesten 1997, p. 54) The technique that Close used in his painting Frank was to use an airbrush to mimic the effect of CMYK color printing. Layers of color produced a realistic image that is almost as clear and real as a photograph. The painstakingly long process requires a tremendous amount of patience in creating minute details that are layered in small quantities and built up similar to that of a printed process that would be done almost instantly (Close, Storr, Varnedoe, and Wye 1998, p. 145). The result of the work is a larger than life painting that is impressive and startling in its realism. Chuck Close Lucas 1987 (Close, Hickey, and Kesten 1997, p. 60) Another method that Close uses to create paintings that are remarkably similar to digital work is pointillism. Pointillism is the technique that utilizes dots of paint that are very small and close together in order to create the optical illusion of form. In the work that Close does, the pointillism takes its inspiration from pixilation, thus creating work that once again resembles that of digitally produced photographic images. In looking at this image it might be considered that a dialogue about the digital age erupts through the clear recreation of this imagery. While pointillism has been around for a long time, the work of George Serat an impressive example of this technique, Close’s technique is intended to recreate the mechanically created images of digital technology. This assessment, however, of a work that is reflective of digital imagery is not what Close states inspires him. According to a quote from Close on the Museum of Modern Art in New York website which advertised an exhibition for his work, he said that “Some people wonder whether what I do is inspired by a computer and whether or not that kind of imaging is a part of what makes this work contemporary. I absolutely hate technology, and I’m computer illiterate, and I never use any labor saving devices, although I am not sure the computer is a labor saving device” (Storr 1998). Chuck Close Big Self Portrait 1967-68 (Storr 1998) (Acrylic on Canvas) Whether or not Close believes his work to be inspired by the digital age, his work is reflective of modern aesthetics that include the explosion of the use of digital technologies. While the artist may have a different idea behind his work, the dialogue between the work and the viewer is a full discussion of realism in relationship to digital work. One cannot help but equate the work with the concept, the realistic quality and the depth of texture, form and curve suggestive of something that can be captured through the use of a high end digital camera. The work provides a commentary that is interactive between the viewer and the piece, the communication defined by interpretations that are relevant to the post-modern era. Closes work is defined by his raw exposure of he human face, his subjects revealed within the daylight of reality for their flaws as much as their beauty. The perfectly formed compositions seem random, but the balance of the work is constructed with a narrative, whether the narrative is revealed after, or is captured in that moment. In the work that reveals Brad Pitt, the detail of his face, its aged facade revealed in a way that is never seen in the movies, his perfect looks now defined by his vulnerability to age. The wrinkles and flawed skin becomes as beautiful through the revealed vulnerability as the perception of Chuck Close Brad 2009 (Magnolia Editions 2011) perfection that is created through movie magic. This piece is created through a woven technique that creates a tapestry of the work, available to the public through reproductions that are woven electronically from a file (Magnolia Editions 2011). In this way, Close participates in the digital paradox of no real original as the same exact piece can be duplicated with unlimited numbers of works. Multi-Media Works of Art There are a great number of materials that can be used to create a work of art. In this writer’s own work, the use of textiles in paintings adds dimension to the narrative about the culture that is represented. The paintings are enhanced by the textural quality of the different materials, the work expanded in its communication through the use of different mediums that can express different aspects of what is intended. The use of multiple forms of materials can create pieces that are a step beyond the use of just one material. Texture and interest is created when an artist brings a tangible element into an image worked piece, the additional material providing more depth that can enhance the dialogue between the work and the viewer. In creating a multimedia piece of artwork, the different materials represent a multiplicity of ideas that are set into balance (Bentkowska-Kafel, Cashen, and Gardiner 2005, p. 60). The different materials, whether digital creations or tangible bits, provide a rounded experience in the development of the language that is used in expressing to the viewer some form of communication. The language of materials becomes the nuance with which the artist creates a textural experience of communication, the many forms coming into balance so that the message is created at the moment of reception in such a way as to convey a level of artistic intent. Conclusion The digital age has created a plethora of opportunities for the artist to find materials and methodologies in which to express his or her concepts. The complaints of critics about the validity of digitally created aspects or full pieces of art are based upon judgments that do not necessarily have the authority to decide what is or isn’t defined as art. Art is defined by culture through a communal recognition of the aesthetics of a piece. This means that one person’s opinion has both no weight and the last defining context in which a piece is judged. To say that digital work is not valid is to deny the advances of theories and the evolution of material use which is in contrast to the nature of art. Art is a living thing, an entity that must be nourished by more and more advancements in order to cognitively expand the ways in which the human experience is expressed. The work of David Hockney is an example of how digital experimentation can lead to new materials that can be used in creating narratives that are profound. Through the use of multiple images that are taken from a variety of angles, a new material was developed and used to create the work. The image was no longer the subject, but was a piece of the overall concept. These ’joiners’ have the capacity of creating commentary on the subject, the linguistic units of each individual photograph coming together to create overall communication. Chuck Close developed pieces that expressed photorealism, works of portraiture that were not only realistic visually, but that revealed the reality of the subject, their flaws and vulnerability, from a perspective of tearing away the superficiality of beauty to the beauty of what is true. As in the example of Brad, the truth is new and fresh, the subject never having been revealed for such raw honesty. The compositions of the portraits almost seem random, but there is intent that is palpable in the way in which the subject is captured. As well, the reality of the work is brought about through a variety of techniques, some of which use abstraction as a way in which to formulate the illusion of reality. In the work that is constructed through pointillism, a sense of a real photograph is felt with the pixilated feel, but this can be seen as a commentary on the illusion that two dimensional photographs provides. The oversized canvases of Close’s work provides a conceptual experience of the overwhelming nature of truth and honesty, in contrast with the illusion of two dimension. Through the use of multimedia materials, which can now include digital imagery to provide new textures and infusions of color, a piece of work can have multiple facets of creativity. As the narrative of the work is considered, an additional material can provide an extension of the communication that is created, the linguistic unit that is defined through its difference contrasted in order to extend the overall meaning. Artwork becomes a development of many facets of the human experience, the layers of the instance of life expressed through the many measures of dimension that is achieved through the use of more than one type of material. Therefore, the debate about the validity of digital art is without much merit, the formation of art a wide experience within the human condition that has a great many purposes. The end result of art is that it is a communication, a revelation of some sort from the artist to the viewer, but the work itself taking the place of the artist making him or her irrelevant to the dialogue. The intent of the artist is rarely the only experience of communication that occurs between the art and the viewer. Therefore, it must be considered that art is defined by the decision that a piece of visual display is art, that it has something to say, whether or not it has any value to the general cultural group. To decide that it is art is the way in which something is designated as art. Just as Kant suggested that beauty is not within the object, but within the viewer to determine the response to the object, art is defined by the decision that is made to designate it as art (Bowie 2003, p. 8). References Bowie, Andrew. 2003. Aesthetics and subjectivity: from Kant to Nietzsche. Manchester [u.a.]: Manchester University Press. Close, Chuck, Dave Hickey, and Joanne Kesten. 1997. The portraits speak: Chuck Close in conversation with 27 of his subjects. New York: A.R.T. Press. Close, Chuck, Robert Storr, Kirk Varnedoe, and Deborah Wye. 1998. Chuck Close. New York: Museum of Modern Art. Hockney, David, and Paul Melia. David Hockney. Critical introductions to art. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1995. Print. Janson, H. W., and Anthony F. Janson. 2003. History of art: the Western tradition. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice-Hall. Bentkowska-Kafel, Anna, Trish Cashen, and Hazel Gardiner. 2005. Digital art history: a subject in transition. Computers and the history of art, Bristol: Intellect. Magnolia Editions. 2010. Chuck Close. Magnolia Editions. Accessed on 14 January 2011 at http://www.magnoliaeditions.com/Content/Close /F00001.html Margolis, Joseph. 1987. Philosophy looks at the arts: contemporary readings in aesthetics. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. Miller, Ron. 2008. Digital art: painting with pixels. Minneapolis, MN: Twenty-First Century Books. Nelson, Robert S., and Richard Shiff. 2003. Critical terms for art history. London: The University of Chicago Press. Niekerk, Kees van Kooten. 2003. The significance of complexity: approaching a complex world through science, theology, and the humanities. Aldershot, Hants. [u.a.]: Ashgate. Reinelt, Janelle G., and Joseph R. Roach. 1992. Critical theory and performance. Theater--theory/text/performance. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. Scott, Clive. 1999. The spoken image photography and language. London: Reaktion. Storr, Robert. 1998. Chuck Close. Museum of Modern Art, New York. Accessed on 14 January 2011 from http://www.moma.org/interactives /exhibitions/1998/close/index.html Read More