Digital Art: Theory and Practice

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Digital Art Theory and Practice

• Christian Nold 2005

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• Introductions
• Register
• How to contact you all

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Structure of Unit

• 2 hours per week contact time
• 1 hour lecture - I show you some stuff, talk
  about ways of thinking about it.
• 1 hour discussion - We communally talk about the
  stuff I showed as well as things you bring in for
  discussion photos, texts etc.
• Students are expected to spend approximately 7
  hours a week on independent study, research and
  seminar presentation. Unit Guide

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Key Issues

• What is the relationship between technology and
  art/design ?
• How will the two continue to do develop and
  influence each other?
• What role does culture play in all this?
• What is the relevance of art/design history to
  making art?
• What themes and approaches do artists take today
  and why?

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Assessment

• While we focusing on the practice of art this is
  a theory module and the assessment is as
  followsPower Point Presentation 25
• 1500 word Essay 75

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Crude Media History

• 4000 BC Cave Painting
• 2000 BC Hieroglyphs
• 1000 BC Writing
• 1200 AD Painting
• 1500 Printing Press
• 1839 Photography
• 1900 Cinema
• 1950s Television
• 1990s Internet
• 2000 Mobile Media

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What is important?
Vermeer, The Milkmaid 1658-60
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What is important?
Principle of the Camera Obscura, after
Kircher,1671. Madrid
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Old vs. New Media?

• Analogue
• DrawingPrintingPhotographyFilmVideoSound
  tapeVinyl recording

• DigitalDigital ImageDigital AudioDigital
  VideoCDsDVDsWebsites

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Analogue and Digital

• The principal characteristic of analogue
  representations is that they are continuous. In
  contrast, digital representations consist of
  values measured at discrete intervals. Digital
  watches are called digital because they go from
  one value to the next without displaying all
  intermediate values. In contrast, watches with
  hands are analogue, because the hands move
  continuously around the clock face.

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Conversion

• In general, humans experience the world in an
  analogue way. Vision, for example, is an analogue
  experience because we perceive infinitely smooth
  gradations of shapes and colours. Most analogue
  events, however, can be simulated digitally.
• CD audio for example samples an analogue wave
  44100 times per second. Digital formats are
  useful because they are easy to store and
  manipulate. On playback this digital data is
  converted back to analogue sound again.

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What is New Media?

• Lev Manovich Language of New Media- 3 copies
  in the library
• Numerical Representation and Manipulation
• Modularity
• Variability
• Cultural Transcoding

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Sources of Information

• www.low-fi.org.uk
• London based curating group - Net Art Locator
• www.rhizome.org
• US based new media resource - very good mailing
  list