[TISEA 1992] Paper: Joseph DeLappe – Informed Artists/users in the Post-computer Art Era

Abstract

The author will review the emerging paradigm shift currently taking place in the use of digital technology for the creation of art. As the technology of computing becomes further accessible and easier to use, we are seeing more artists engaging these systems to create art that moves beyond technical mastery to speak of critical, aesthetic and conceptual concerns. The author will focus on the so-called ‘informed users’ who create meaningful works of art, which through their basis in the presentation of issues ranging from- the personal to the political, provide models for the effective utilisation of technology to represent ideas and concepts relevant to our ever-changing, multicultural ‘global village’.Much of what has been considered ‘computer art’ in the past twenty years demonstrated high levels of technical proficiency,’but often lacked much, if any, artistic merit. The author will focus on artists who move beyond previous notions of ‘computer art’, utilising digital systems to create works ranging from two-dimensional printworks, artist books (analog and digital) image projections, and public billboards in which the primary objective is to communicate ideas and concepts, presenting challenging, content-based artistic statements. The objective is to create a context for critically understanding the approach of artists who are creating meaningful works through the utilisation of new tools. These artists are not hiding behind pseudo theories of engaging science. Rather, they are more concerned with critical examinations and representations of power and ideology in our mediated personal and cultural environments. The author will cull selected examples of contemporary artists using digital systems in the above described manner from an international call for entries, and from selected invited artists.

  • Joseph DeLappe, University of South Florida, USA