Abstract

This paper developed out of my attraction to painting-digital hybrids and my frustration with antiquated structures inhospitable to media flexibility. I’ve organized the paper in that order – first, as a survey of best practices, followed by thoughts on structures that allow innovative experimentation with traditional and digital media to thrive.

Now that digital tools are ubiquitous, contemporary artists use them at all stages of development. Ideas might be researched on the internet, sketched with pencil, scanned into the computer, manipulated, transferred to canvas, painted, recaptured with a camera, manipulated again, projected again, revised and perhaps resolved. This is nothing new. Cave men incorporated new tools into the practice of painting. What’s changed, gradually over time and now at a fevered pitch, is emerging technologies’ effect on the speed of progress, both within a painter’s practice and the medium’s history. What’s also changed is the influence of digital media on painting decisions.

• Joelle Dietrick (US) creates paintings, drawings and animations about contemporary nomadism. Her upcoming 2010 exhibitions include a solo exhibition at Colorado State University and collaborative projects at the TINAB festival in Prague and Venice. She is based in Berlin. joelledietrick.com

Full text (PDF) p.  104-105