Nicole Proctor

An artist walks into a gallery…

“We must expect great innovations to transform the entire technique of the arts, thereby affecting artistic invention itself and perhaps even bringing about a change in our notion of art.”-Paul Valery*

As someone with a fine arts background, I have studied new media with a quizzical and sometimes cynical eye.  In my attempt to synthesize and explain my understanding and critique of new media (specifically how it applies to the arts and artists), this quarter’s project “Alone With My Thoughts” will attempt to simulate an artist’s struggle in this modern world.  My current situation parallels that of the protagonist.  Considering myself an “analog artist” or one who creates with non- digital materials (i.e., paint, paper, canvas etc.) I struggle to adapt and create in this new informational and technological age. Nestled somewhere between what does it all mean, what good can it do, what has actually changed, and what is one supposed to do, I hope my character can successfully articulate and identify some of the real issues “analog” artists face when confronted with new media.  This paper will attempt to define new media arts for the reader, as well as highlight a few buzzwords associated with new media arts.

For the sake of this paper, I would like to define new media art as art that is multi-modal in nature, or created and/or displayed with the most current forms of technology.  This can include digitally created artworks (two or three dimensional and designed on a computer), interactive (interactive meaning exchange of information) pieces with electronic interfaces, video with multiple components, visual (or audial) renderings of data, or really anything that can be imagined.  New media art challenges one’s ideas about art as it used to be (think sculpture or painting) and introduces a whole new slew of questions. Is it art? What does it mean to be an artist? What qualities constitute an art form? Are technical skills (the ability to manipulate data electronically for a visual/audial result) replacing creative abilities?

My film has one character, which will be me, played by me.  This short is reflective of the internal monologue of someone asking many of the questions we have faced in the previous quarter. With this choice of media, I am hoping to make the viewer question the pure absurdity of art while presenting the challenges of new media art directly.  When I say absurdity of art, I am referencing pieces such as Marcel Duchamp’s “Fountain” or any piece that when introduced to the masses was deemed ridiculous.  In “Alone With My Thoughts,” it is absurd (to me) that I could film myself while running and call it art.  In this instance, the challenges I faced in creating new media art were many.  They included finding the right equipment, learning how to edit multiple forms of media, figuring out how to create something that is still visually interesting, and how to save progress on work digitally (just to name a few).  Now despite having a finished product, I am faced with the following issues: how will I display this, how will I display this when it is one of many? How do I keep the digital files intact?

Hidden in my scripted internal dialogue, I will first identify and redefine the concept of digital divide, and what this issue poses to both the artist and spectator. Here my character gives her thoughts on what the digital divide really is and what it means to her.  A major point here is that the digital divide is more than the “haves” and “have nots.”  With technology, there is a new divide created where it is not only present if people can afford things (interfaces, tools, programs, etc.), but if they can use them correctly or to the full capacity.  I will also examine the concept of “aura” (the essence of an object) and how and if it can survive in a realm of digital creation and distribution.  My character will reference Walter Benjamin’s Illuminations and debate whether or not certain works have an “aura.”  Benjamin had a fascination with photography and mechanical reproduction and discussed his ideas about the aura of certain artworks and what happened to the aura or essence when works were reproduced.  In my film I use my personal experience viewing a famous painting and try to indicate how different viewing that work in person was in comparison to viewing a reproduction in a book or on the Internet.

The final point my character will address is the concept of interactivity.  Here, my character will question if art itself was ever fully capable of being interactive, and if museums are capable of being interactive.   Interactive, as I mentioned earlier, refers to the exchange of information.  For the sake of this paper, interactive is often thought of as using a digital interface to either learn more about something or communicate with people, or the concept referred to when used in collaborative projects between multiple people.  In lieu of person-to-person interaction, museums often have things such as QR codes that viewers can scan with smartphones to receive more information about pieces in their collections.  

I am hoping that this short will serve as one of a few films in an installation series.  Installation art itself creates its own unique set of questions, especially when one considers new media.  I see the installation in a gallery setting, where the spectator can walk around, and each character would have their own “station.” At this point, I have conceptualized this showing to be individual projections where the characters are projected on outside walls. On the inside, a viewer would be able to pick up a headset at each station, and hear what each character is “thinking.”

New media and new media arts present new challenges to artist and viewer alike.  At this current time I am only beginning to explore and understand how new media art can be created and shared.  I have the viewpoint of “the angry analog artist” so it is difficult at times to see that very beautiful things have the potential to be created and communicated (see Aaron Koblin’s flight patterns).  It is, however, important to understand the struggle of artists in not only their creative processes but also their communicative ones as well.  As museums rethink their methods in attempts to retain visitors as technology changes, the methods and ideas people create also change.  Some people may like screens and buttons to accompany them when they visit galleries and museums.  I prefer to be left alone with my thoughts.

*Paul Valery, “The Conquest of Ubiquity” Volume of Collected Works.  New York: Clarke and Way, Inc. p225