Digital + Art + Skepticism
The article “Menus, Filters, Plug-ins” state that the visual media, especially since the rise of computers and image editing software, has come down to the “user” a.k.a. the “artist” selecting from a library of pre-made objects, such as clip art, filters, etc, and combining them into a piece, rather than the artist making everything from scratch. The article further states that this “Logic of Selection” allows anyone to be a creator.
My initial reaction to this article was “Wow, this is like THE anti-digital imaging (or any other digital media for that matter).” It does, however, make some good points about working in digital media. Software such as Photoshop does come with a wide variety of filters, tools, and graphics, making it easy for its users to make their own images and/or graphics. Even other media, such as video, 3-D modeling, and music, have their own set of software that come with their own set of pre-made files that make the act of creation easy for anyone who can read a manual. While it is true that most of today’s software comes with an enormous library of presets that almost anyone can create “something” just by using what is provided, I do believe that the article focuses too much on the software and not enough on its users to support its point.
One of the article’s main points appears to be the idea that the creative process has been replaced by pull-down menus, commands, and plug-ins. I would argue that the menus, commands, and plug-ins are nothing more than tools in a digital artist’s arsenal. Although the commands and such are written so that they do a specific action, the decision of whether to use the command, as well as where, how, and why rest with the user/artist. In the context of digital imaging, when the artist makes the decision to use, or not to use, a certain filter, command, or plug-in, is when the artist is involved in creative thought. The article also states that the user/artist is a technician; an accessory to the machine. Again, I beg to differ with the author of the article. Machines are incapable of thought and can only do what the user/artist commands it to do. In essence, the user/artist is the only variable that allows for the creation of a piece.
Another point made by the article is the idea that works are made from “pre-made parts” that come with the software or found on the web, rather than from scratch. I would argue that first of all, an artist serious about their work would create materials to use in their work on their own, whether it be a photograph (digital or analog), drawing (scanned or vector), and anything else capable of being “digitized.” As far as the internet is involved, some artists may choose to use graphics, textures, photos, fonts and such found on web based resources, but that’s also part of the artist’s creative process.
Digital media, being as young as it is, is bound to be questioned by some skeptics as its validity as an art form. Perhaps its acceptance too, will grow with time.
Posted By: Shintaro Okanaka