(Thanks to photographer Tony Beltran for the pictures used in this article and to the SDAI for permission to reproduce them here. Also, Beth Gahan and Joe Nalven for their assistance. --JD Jarvis) Tipping the Point: Digital Art Becomes Art Made Digitally by JD Jarvis May 25, 2006 On April 29th in sunny San Diego, backed with a $50K grant from Sony, the San Diego Art Institute, assisted by that city's well-known "Digital Art Guild," mounted the Sony/SDAI Museum of the Living Artist "International Digital Fine Art Exhibition." Featuring, nearly 100 pieces of art from all over the U.S. (one piece from Germany made the cut) gleaned from over 1,000 worldwide entries, the exhibit is a rich and varied look at the scope of art that is made or affected deeply by digital imaging tools. This very loose definition of "digital art" left the field wide open to any and all media and, as one might expect, let in a good deal of the light of controversy. For example, many in attendance wondered at the inclusion of a bit of sculpture by Lisa Fromatz. Entitled "Roux" (see Figure 1 below), this tabletop-sized composition of mixed media bits is energetic and full of humor, but "sculpture" in digital terms is usually a matter of "rendering" three-dimensional space, not actually operating in it. However, the piece was designed in a 3D program, and bits of digitally printed items were adhered to some of the sculpture's surfaces. On the same side of the gallery near "Roux" was a large oil painting by Jessica Sledge. Entitled "With God on Our Side," it is a kind of "Curious George goes to Nam" juxtaposition of ideas. It was categorized as "mixed media" by virtue of a good number of small paper elements (monkeys and tanks) that were digitally printed and reproduced having been attached to the canvas. But, why-oh-why were these works called "Digital Art"? Figure 1: "Roux" by Lisa Fromatz In another corner, many remarked at the inclusion of what appeared to be standard photography that had either been captured by a digital camera or printed on a digital printer. A lot of sumptuous black-and-white photographs dotted the gallery, as did many color images with no more signs of manipulations or other digital tricks than the color enhancements of "Self Portrait with Pink Dress and American Flag," by Carmen Lizardo (see Figure 2). "What in the heck are these doing here," worried many of the digital purists. And, what about the embroidery--yes the embroidery--of Scott Ellegood with his piece "Erogenous Zone #3" (see Figure 3)? Now it's a sewing show? Well, be careful because you could overlook the art searching for the digital. You might miss, in your search for pixels, the sense of softness versus alienation of a young woman supplanted into not so familiar surroundings or the kinesthetic connection between a quilt and a kiss. Figure 2: "Self Portrait with Pink Dress and American Flag" by Carmen Lizardo Figure 3: "Erogenous Zone #3" by Scott Ellegood But fear not, the show is loaded with the undeniable fusion, surrealistic flair, and techno wizardry that we have come to cherish (nay expect?) in "digital art." James Edwards does it in his Grand Award-winning "Al-Fallujuh-DG" (see Figure 4). Chet Morrison demonstrates this in his digital painting "A Man and His Bird," which received the SDAI "John McKee Figurative Image Award" (see Figure 5). Here too, in the exhibit, is the emotionally cool, mathematical, yet deeply appealing algorithmic work like that of Alina Murdock's "Flesh Series II, Hands 13" (see Figure 6). As one takes it all in, it begins to sink in that this is not an exhibit of "digital art," but rather an exhibit of "art made digitally." What's the difference? In terms of the acceptance of "digital art" into the lofty realms of "fine art," this distinction is quite significant. Figure 4: "Al-Fallujuh-DG" by James Edwards Figure 5: "A Man and His Bird" by Chet Morrison Figure 6: "Flesh Series II, Hands 13" by Alina Murdock In speaking with the show's curator about her criteria for this exhibit, one finds Marilyn Kushner (Figure 7), Department Chair of Prints, Drawings and Photographs and Curator of Prints and Drawings at New York's Brooklyn Museum, delightfully open to having so called "digital artwork" in any exhibition she would mount. In her opinion, whether it was a painting exhibit, an exhibition of photography or a show of prints, art made or enhanced by digital means could have its place. Therefore, the nature of the work and the intent of the artist would place the artwork into one of these more traditional categories. The art and not the tools used to make it would determine the merit of the work. "Digital Art" becomes "Art" made digitally. Figure 7: Show curator Marilyn Kushner So are the days numbered for the term "digital art?" Well, it appears, according to Ms. Kushner--who places a lot of importance on the curator's responsibility "to bring the public along" and to educate skeptics, even among her peers at the Brooklyn Museum--that the term "digital art" will continue to have meaning as it describes a still-viable topic around which to group an exhibition of work, such as the Sony/SDAI exhibit. Compared to times when digital artwork was rejected simply because of the means used to create the imagery, this may be a watershed moment. I have long been suspicious of the double-edged nature of expecting my artwork to receive a promotional lift by using the term "digital art" to describe it. On one hand, one might expect that using that term would place one's work at some sort of imagined forefront, working with the latest, most advanced tools in art making; riding the wave of popular techo-culture. On the other hand, "digital art" has suffered from the equally imaginary impression that it is impersonal, automated and just plain too easy to be considered art with a capital "A." Ghettoized, in a sense, to craft fairs and the "special Olympics" of so-called digital art exhibitions and web galleries, art made digitally could remain safely out of the main stream for a good deal more time. However, if digital art is to achieve the recognition that I think it deserves, it may have to give up the idea of its separateness and special-hood. I personally believe my artwork is better than it ever would have been had I not adopted digital tools in its making. This alone is all the advantage I need. In the end, I would prefer artwork to be judged on a level playing field as "Art" and not as something created using this or that special device. In the case of Ms. Kushner and surely others like her, that time has come. The question we have to ask ourselves as "digital artists" is: Are we ready to go out without the imaginary sunscreen of some hipster technology? Are you ready to risk being burnt because the art might be lacking and not because it was made by unpopular or misunderstood means? Along with the extensive and well-planned promotion of the SDAI exhibit came art critic Robert Pincus. In an article entitled "The Vision Thing," Mr. Pincus pulled the readership of the San Diego Union Tribune up to the first threshold of understanding digital media when he summed up his "preview" of the show thusly: "In the fluid and constant shifting landscape of media for making art, the only constant seems to be that the medium ultimately isn't the message. It is only the means to realizing a venerable ambition: a compelling vision." And so, Mr. Pincus brought himself and not just a few readers to the basic understanding that the computer does not "generate" the art. The groundwork was laid. The Sony/SDAI exhibit itself, then, goes on to push beyond this first step to the second threshold wherein one realizes that, in truth, there has never actually been anything like these tools before. All strained comparisons to "brushes," "paints," "presses" or any other traditional media is lost in the variety and the seductively timely power of the imagery itself. Rather than a claim for some sort of special-ness, this is simply a recognition, without the need to teach the uninitiated or coddle the unconvinced, that working digitally is ultimately nothing like anything else we have ever seen. Going through the Sony/SDAI show with this in mind, one finds the confirmation that we are on, or approaching, new territory. And herein lies the only claim to any sort of "special-ness" or uniqueness that ought to survive for so-called "Digital Art." When we examine "the vision" wrought by all contemporary artists as they interact with these new tools, the next threshold begins to form on the artistic horizon. This third threshold is the realization that digital tools are changing the culture and, by association, the art that is being made. Regardless of the tools or media being used to create any particular piece of art, the vision of contemporary culture itself is being changed by our contact and use of digital tools. Ms. Kushner was able to confirm that since she arrived at the Brooklyn Museum in 1994, she has recognized an evolution of the imagery she sees in works of all media toward an awareness of the affect of digital tools within our culture and, as such, upon the artist's vision. "In 20 years, people will be writing their theses about how the computer changed the vision and look of Art." This will be the true and lasting legacy of "digital art" as it transitions into "art made digitally." In terms of sponsorship, attendance, and curatorial depth, the Sony/SDAI "International Digital Fine Art Exhibition 2006," which hangs in the SDAI Museum of the Living Artist in Balboa Park, San Diego until June 11th, 2006, is one of a rare number of important exhibitions that one may soon look back upon as a seminal event. As more and more such expertly crafted exhibits begin to crop up, a "tipping point" seems to be approaching at an ever-rapidly advancing speed. Kudos to all the artists in the San Diego Digital Art Guild for the important role they played in making this happen. About the Author: JD Jarvis is co-author of "Going Digital: The Practice and Vision of Digital Artists," Thomson Course Technology, published July, 2005. You may sample some of his art made digitally at www.dunkingbirdproductions.com. (see related Event Report on the Sony/SDAI Museum of the Living Artist "International Digital Fine Art Exhibition" here.) 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