Week 1

First week back and I am looking forward to embracing myself in the culture of Contemporary Digital Art. I can’t wait to learn how to utilize programs such as Photoshop, Illustrator etc and build on my computer skills and techniques that will essentially assist me when working on my folio.

The ideas that came to mind, when thinking of a theme for my folio are “Communication,” “Reality vs Fantasy” and “Nature vs Man-Made.” However, I selected the theme, “Nature vs. Man- Made” because of the subjects complexity. Both natural and man made objects have potential to show beauty and destruction.  This is where contemporary digital art can be used as an essential part of bringing to life the creative process of my ideas through this medium. The more traditional methods of art such as painting, drawing and photography can be used with modern day technology such as Photoshop CS3 and Illustrator to completely transform the art piece via editing the digital image in terms of manipulating, enhancing, transforming and applying effects and filters, creating a whole new dimension to the artwork which would not have otherwise been possible to do without the use of digital art programs.



Habitat for humanity, 2007

 The two Contemporary Digital Artists that I found very inspirational are George Grie and Richard Misrach. Grie is one of the first digital surrealist artists and is known for his 3D, 2D and matte painting images. I really admire the way his art works are a visual recording of his conceptual thoughts, philosophic views and dreams. His artworks are so mesmerizing to look at because he merges “real world images with subconscious emotions and philosophical thoughts” (Grie). Take for example, his art work, Habitat for Humanity. It is of a unique shaped architecture surrounded by trees situated on the shores of a beach. His use of a limited palette of colours, the variation of tones and the neven composition creates the mood. The stillness of his themes convey a magical, dream-like gothic world, full of contemplative moments which  I would like to achieve within my work of art, using photo manipulation.






Desert Fire #153 Man With Rifle

   

Misrach's is an American photographer is most influential for his photographs of human intervention in landscapes. I really like his ongoing series Desert Cantos which consist of multi-facetted photographs of desert landscapes, because he portrays the beauty of nature.