The Digital Medium
Our approach to how we create and view art are continually being challenged and enhanced by the ongoing advancement of technology and the increased power of the tools at our disposal. This is reflected in the progression of approaches to what art is, how it is created and received and the role it plays. The advent of the digital environment has had a liberating effect on every aspect of communication in our society, especially on expression of the artistic vision.

The term art is used to define the pursuit or study of any intellectual activity. It is always associated with the process of critical thought. In the creative arts, this process of critical thought is the basis for the creation of new concepts. Art is created with the intent to convey a thought or emotion - a truth - with no qualifying of the method of conveyence or the mode of reception. Anything that is intentionally created with this notion as its underlying motivation becomes a form of art that we can incorporate into our lives and use to add definition to who we are and what we are about. Through art, we strengthen our identity and define our personal experience.

The focus of my artistic effort is to explore the abstract notion of atmosphere. Color and value become the method of enhancing the movement through the image in addition to the use of line and form, creating an energetic pulse of light and energy. Abstraction of form opens the image to interpretation and begins the process that Leonardo Davinci pioneered in Sfumato* - a blurring of lines and boundaries. This experience, also referred to as confusion endurance, allows the viewer to become at ease with and embrace the unknown. The result is a personal free association with the image, absent of predetermined results. Ultimately, to the individual viewer gains the authority to decide what the work represents to them and the experience of feeling that it offers.

In the creation of digital work, the idea that the computer creates the art is a misconception. The computer is simply a tool that can be used to expand the concept of the canvas and brush that we use to create. As Pablo Picasso said "Computers are useless, they can only give you answers."** The question must still be asked that take us down the path of critical thought that leads to new and compelling results.

* How to Think Like Leonardo DaVinci by Michael J. Gelb. Delacorte Press, New York, NY, 1998.
** The Little Zen Companion by David Schiller. Workman Publishing, New York, NY, 1994.

Dan Traynor

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