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I really value this new space for conversations, at the intersection of digital and physical art practices. I hope we can have here (I saw familiar faces!) very open conversations and confront ideas. I’m not writing here in the same polished way I would write on X or LinkedIn.
I’d like to have the community’s feedback and input on the way we approach digital art.
I have created physical art since 1988, and around 2019, I just could not afford to purchase art supplies anymore. I experienced a period of my life when I was completely broke. So I decided to create my work on a computer, and planned to print the works on a physical medium when I could afford it. For about two years, I created works that were stored as digital files, waiting to be shared with the public as physical pieces. In early 2021, I heard about Crypto, Blockchain technologies, and NFTs. I tried to mint on Hic Et Nunc in May 2021, as an experiment, and to my great surprise, I found collectors for my work in digital form.
I wanted to say “ Heyyy, wait... This is not the intended way my work is supposed to be experienced. The pieces were supposed to be printed on a physical support about six feet by three feet, not to be seen on a cell phone or a computer screen”. But I didn’t.
I accidentally became catalogued as a “digital artist”. I then started to educate myself about the history of digital and blockchain art - of which I knew close to nothing - not to look dumb talking with my fellow digital artists.
In my current and future works, I’ll keep using the digital medium, but not exclusively. And only when it makes sense.
I see digital technologies as useful tools; I’m not fascinated by them. A hammer and a chisel are the tools of the sculptor, but they are not revered as such. I’m using digital technologies that are, for me, devoid of emotions to create art that - I hope - will create emotions for the viewer.
So, my question for you is: Are we supposed to like, revere, or admire the medium we are using?
3 comments
Thanks for sharing this @pgervois. Your story is a good reminder that we don't always choose our medium - sometimes our medium chooses us, through circumstance, curiosity, or necessity.
Your question also resonates with me personally. For most of my life, I thought of myself as a photographer. Now, I use digital tools, including AI, alongside photography and other media. What does that make me? A photographer? A digital artist? Some hybrid? I'm less interested in finding the right label than in finding the right tools for each idea.
I don't think we're supposed to admire or revere the medium. But I think we are obligated to understand it well enough to use it intentionally. Sometimes the medium itself is part of the message; other times it's simply the best vehicle for expressing an idea...
Thank you Danielle, for your thoughtful response. I don’t consider your work - that you know I admire - as “digital” art, for example, even if you are using computers and digital tools. I consider it part of the long tradition of figurative art. I’m very tired of the misuse and fetishisation of the adjective “digital” in digital art. The wonderful artists I have discovered since 2021 who are part of the NFT ecosystem are ARTISTS for me, not “digital artists”. I can’t state enough how exhausted I am from hearing the term “digital art” everywhere. You are, Danielle, the perfect person to have this conversation with!