Sunday, September 21, 2008

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.

Personal Statement

My background is in oriental painting. I’ve been painting for more than ten years, and I really love to paint. But just after getting my BFA in Korea, I wanted to expand my abilities and broaden my eyes, so I applied to ITP.
Because I used to do my work in an analog way with brushes, paint: paper, and barely used a computer before ITP, I first focused on learning new digital tools. When I started, I was just amazing to learn a new technology. But as I acclimated myself to ITP, I felt that something was missing. My work at ITP is surprising and fun for people. It grabs viewers’ attention for a few minutes, but doesn’t convey deep emotion and feeling. It’s just the opposite from what I’ve done before. My painting is not as so much fun as the work I do at ITP, but people who see my paintings came to me and talked about what they felt.
At fine art exhibitions, I usually stand in front of the art work and try to understand or feel what it’s saying to me. In this way, I became more actively involved with the art work, and try to have a conversation at it. But at digital art exhibitions, much of the new media and digital art work leaves me passive. Although these works are designed for interaction and ease of use, they leave no time or space for reaching deep insights and emotion, just like TV entertainment shows. This was a huge experience for me.
I think there are a few media artists who solve this problem successfully, such as Gary Hill and Bill Viola. To stand in the same line with them, I wish this project would be one big step toward them.

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

flight404 : magnetic ink

This work is one of what I'm seeking after. They made a great work.


Magnetic Ink, Process video from flight404 on Vimeo.

Resources

I found a good article. It's not exactly same direction with my thesis, but partially related to what I'm thinking about.

A CRITICAL HISTORY OF 20TH-CENTURY ART