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Preface to a Digital Reception
As a growing artist caught up with current events in fine art, especially the expanding discussion on digital art, I welcome new opportunities to continue to redefine my perceptions of "What is art today?" This was not a question that I expected to be answered at a party, but perhaps it would be something of a jumping off point into new conversations. I donned my best art opening attire and headed off to the International Digital Fine Art Exhibition 2006 Gala Reception.
The San Diego Art Institute Takes a Risk by Going Digital
Prior to this year, the San Diego Art Institute (SDAI) had previously hosted 48 international all-media fine art exhibitions. This year, the international exhibition was limited to just one medium‹digital. The hope was to draw San Diego's high-tech companies into giving more to the arts, particularly if the art medium was itself high- tech. Sony answered the call to support the arts by sponsoring the International Digital Fine Art Exhibition 2006.
Tim Field, SDAI Director, partnered with the relatively new Digital Art Guild to help tailor the logistics involved in this step away from an all-media show. The questions quickly became evident: How to fashion the criteria of what was to be included in this particular digital art exhibition; How to receive and review digital images via the Internet; and the million dollar question‹How to select a suitable juror that would bring insight and credibility to the selection process.
After two years of innumerable preparations, the exhibition, along with a full catalogue, presented to the public the debut of what artist JD Jarvis had termed "The Lively Art" (see related essay by JD Jarvis here)
There is Substance Beyond the Glitz
The doors to SDAI's Museum of the Living Artist opened and the gallery filled with artists and art lovers. Music flowed from the Rutman Jazz Blues Band in full swing, hors d'oeuvre were served, and wine poured, while locals and visitors alike viewed the artwork on the walls. By the look of things, including a turnout that could be described as a comfortable crowd outfitted in suits and cocktail dresses, it became clear that digital fine art was turning a few heads.
ABOVE: opening night of the International Digital Fine Art Exhibition
at the Museum of the Living Artist in San Diego
Whatever else might be said, this exhibition spoke to the diversity and breadth of the digital processes and fine art that hung on the walls. The juror for the exhibition was Marilyn Kushner, Department Chair of Prints, Drawings and Photography, and Curator Prints and Drawings at Brooklyn Museum in New York (see figure below). She selected the 84 works of art in the exhibition and, having flown out earlier to see the actual art, she prized 11 winners with awards totaling $6,250. The night of the gala event, Kushner was back to present those selected artists with their respective awards. In her juror statement, Kushner spoke about her experience and knowledge as an expert on works of art on paper. "Coast to coast, and indeed worldwide, digital technology has changed the face of not only printmaking, but all fine art media," she explained.
ABOVE: Juror Marilyn Kushner, at right with tan top, at the following afternoon's
"Meet the Juror" event. Photograph by Elizabeth R. Gahan.
Tim Field moved among the guests and spoke about the importance of having a juror "who is not only versed in the medium and evolution of digital art, but a scholar trained in traditional mediums as well." Marilyn Kushner complemented this idea in a separate conversation suggesting that her perspective is that of a curator, art historian, and an appreciator of art on paper; a perspective that allows her to consider digital art within the greater context of fine art.
Off to the side, a letter from Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger praised San Diego's digital arts community, while San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders proclaimed April 29th "SDAI day in San Diego" for the city's commitment to the arts.
The last of the fashionably late arrived and the award ceremony began. One of the more significant speakers for the San Diego arts community was Dr. Joyce Gattas (see figure below). She is both the Dean of Fine Arts at San Diego State University and Chair of San Diego Commissions for Arts & Culture. She began with the mantra, "Dare to be different!" After congratulating Field for pushing the envelope with this quality exhibition, she noted that "the discussion on digital arts at the university level is moving beyond the conversation of traditional arts versus digital art," pointing out that they were recruiting new faculty with digital art in mind.
ABOVE: Dr. Joyce Gattas
Tim Field's gamble in seeking out greater sponsorship from the San Diego-based high-tech community was rewarded as the Sony representative James Neil took the microphone to say, "As a major corporation in the digital industry in North America, Sony is honored to sponsor this exhibition."
All in all, it was turning out to be a big night for Art with a capital "DFA" as digital fine art received recognition from not only individuals within the art community, but from other arenas in the community as well; from the governor and the mayor, to Sony, to local and visiting guests.
The first place Grand Award (Best in Show) went to James Edwards for his digital drawing/photo manipulation "Al Fallujah-DG" (see figure below).
ABOVE: Grand Award-winning "Al Fallujah-DG" by James Edwards
Edwards graciously accepted his award on stage; the tag alongside his artwork offered some insight into the conception of his collage: "The immediacy and accessibility of digital imagery allow me to scan the landscape for places where humans have left residue of their behavior."
Though perhaps a lengthy ceremony, it was time well-spent‹stocked with local names and familiar faces that covered all of the social-political-institutional art bases. As an onlooker myself, the eclectic line-up seemed to move right along and hold the attention of the crowd as each speech brought a new thought to the table or presented a well-deserved honor.
For those versed in the history of computer and digital arts, there were several mentionable guests in attendance. Michael Wright, Artist, Professor, and Art Exhibition Chair for SIGGRAPH 2003, was engaged in conversation with Daryl Wise, the author of the book Secrets of Award Winning Digital Artists, when he paused to comment on the exhibition. "These are the people trying to make a difference when it comes to making and selling digital fine art," he said. Point taken.
ABOVE: Michael Wright
JD Jarvis, co-author (with Joe Nalven) of the book Going Digital, and his wife, artist Myriam Lozada-Jarvis, could also be seen soaking up the art. As an artist and an academic with a personal interest in digital art, Jarvis focused on this exhibition's push to raise public awareness about digital fine art. Jarvis added, "The artwork, lively and full of diversity, that we see in digital art now, shows once and for all that artists are at work."
Jarvis' current interest moves beyond his first book that was based on creating digital art to a new concern: "How has digital technology and digital art impacted culture and the use of traditional media?" Always looking toward the bigger picture, Jarvis posed this question to Marilyn Kushner the following afternoon at the "Meet the Juror" event at the Museum of the Living Artist. Kushner responded, "Twenty years from now art students will look back on today and they'll see a real trend and write dissertations on how digital technology affected each media including sculpture."
Reflection After the Pixels Have Settled
Attending the gala reception as an artist, an academic, and an employee of SDAI, I became aware of this unique opportunity to glimpse this discussion of digital art from a variety of differing points of view simultaneously: that of the artist, the art scholar, the private organization, the non-profit institution, the fine art patron, as well as the general pubic.
"Is digital art really art?" This question may still permeate conversations among the general public, but the discussion among those invested in fine art has evolved in recent years as dramatically as the artwork itself. The "role," "impact," or "place" of digital art was also open for debate when I attended the University of California at Santa Barbara, where the painting studio was down the hall from the computer lab. And long before computer labs in university art departments took physical form, the academic arena acted as host to the early debates on digital technology as creative tools and the emergence of digital fine art.
With this in mind, I took note when Robert Pincus, major art critic for San Diego's Union-Tribune newspaper, selected the International Digital Fine Art Exhibition as the focus for an article. This article, which was released prior to the gala reception, began with the observation that "Digital art is a term commonly bandied about these days. But it is still a designation in search of a definition." And he later concluded, "In the fluid and constantly shifting landscape of media for making art, the only constant seems to be that medium ultimately isn't the message. It is only the means to realizing a venerable ambition: a completed vision." This text is of particular interest to me because such concepts are no longer limited to academia, but are now being posed to the general public. At the same time, as digital artists venture into the larger fine art arena, the general public is becoming more aware of digital fine art and its many faces. Perhaps in years to come, when SDAI's Museum of the Living Artist produces the international all-media exhibition 2007, there will be a greater participation by digital artists and a greater proportion of digital fine art than in previous all-media exhibitions.
ABOVE: "Landscape 2" with artist Michele Guieu, "Suspensions #3" with artist Nathan Selikoff, "Untitled (Theatrics 2)" with artist Jeanette Bokhour
About the Author: Elizabeth R. Gahan is an artist and Public Relations & Marketing Coordinator at SDAI: Museum of the Living Artist. Her website is www.gahanart.com, and she can be reached at ergahan@gmail.com.
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2006 SHOW DETAILS:
International Digital Fine Art Exhibition 2006
SDAI: Museum of the Living Artist
San Diego, California, USA
April 29-June 11, 2006
www.sandiego-art.org
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