Panel Statement
Panel: The Big Bang of Electronic Art: Merging Abstraction and Representation in the Age of Digital Imaging
Abstraction and the psychogeography of urban space fuel my interest in developing specialized forms of representation: alphabets, drawings, paintings (graffiti), sculpture and so on. Much of my artworks in Second Life, a virtual 3D space, are based on a variety of subjects that visually appear simplified and rearranged – stripped down to expressive and communicative essentials. The simplification that results from abstraction does not mean less than profound than representational works; instead, these simplifications allow deeper meanings to emerge. I use in-world (Second Life) tools to construct virtual objects that are textured and assembled to simulate modern graffiti. I manipulate artistic elements (texture, color, etc.) using a three-dimensional modeling tool based around simple geometric shapes that allows for the creation of virtual art objects. In this process, all parts of the artwork become mutually interactive and interrelated – as a system. Extruding two-dimensional forms and incorporating interactive elements reveal new ways to generate representations that break set rules and establish new practices that extend viewer/user participation.
- Nettrice Gaskins’ work explores the intersection of art, technology, and community. In both real and virtual worlds her work is about extending notions of the inter-medial by breaking down the boundaries between various art forms in radical ways. In fact she chooses not to distinguish her work in one area or space. In Second Life, as the avatar Nettrice Beattie, she has created several immersive and artistic installations including a recent one for IBM’s Exhibition Space. Nettrice received a BFA in Computer Graphics, with Honors, from Pratt Institute and an MFA in Art & Technology from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Last year she enrolled in the Digital Media PhD program at Georgia Institute of Technology, US.