Thesis Abstract

My Thesis direction involves experimenting with ways to deliver the emotional fullness of fine art with digital art. These days, many works of art, especially digital art work, try to focus on the fun and wow effect, like entertainment shows. But I think art can give people more important things - Emotional richness, self-examination, depth and insight. I want to bring some of the important aspects of fine art that can evoke emotions in viewers, especially in paintings, and mix this with new technology to create a “new, digital [form] of artistic expression”.
The biggest challenge of this project is how to get over the texture of the real world, because the material texture of painting is one of the most powerful factors conveying emotion. For instance, different kinds of painting materials bring different feelings because each material has it’s own character and quality. Oil paints can evoke thick or silky feelings. On the other hand, powder paints can evoke thin or dried feelings. Unfortunately, with digital art, which usually use screens; light as a medium, it is not easy to represent different kinds of textures, even though it can generate numerous texture effects. I plan to research and analyze more deeply the factors in art that affect and inspire me.
I plan to use Processing (and maybe Flash?) for this project. But, since I didn’t have any programming experience before coming to ITP, making a compelling; evocative digital piece of art will be a big challenge. Right now, I don’t have a concrete idea of how the final result will look. I plan to research and study what makes paintings emotional; the kinds of digital art work that has evoked emotional so that I can focus my project work tightly.