Computer Art - A Matter Of Unusual Conjunction
The Age
Monday April 1, 1996
Confused about computer art? A new exhibition sheds light on the subject, says Mark Lawrence.
JUXTAPOSITIONING. So that's what it's all about. To a layperson with vivid memories of being caught in the middle of a room filled with swirling images and distorted sounds, co-curator Mike Leggett's description came as a balm to confused senses.
The day before, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney had launched its
Burning the Interface
To those, whose understanding of ``art appreciation" is a dignified stroll through imposing gallery corridors, meditating upon the master strokes of, ummm, masters, this was confronting and confusing.
With the exception of one HDTV screen cleverly embedded in a wall to give the impression of a moving masterpiece, the walls were predominatly bare: eyes, ears and hands were drawn to desks and podiums upon which sat Power Macintoshes loaded with the creative output of artists who not only know much about art, but also the means of transferring their discipline's concepts on to the eminently portable CD-ROM.
Explaining the exhibition's genesis, Leggett, ``a practitioner in digital media", and the person responsible for selecting the exhibits, said he first asked for submissions for the exhibition about 18 months ago.
A couple of months later, he established his first Web site and extended more invitations: there was also a conventional mail out.
``We were interested to see any computer art that was on a CD-ROM. It was very general. We then became a little more specific: we stressed we wanted to see work that was going to be pushing the envelope; that was involved in serious research in the emerging area of multimedia," he said.
I noted that Leggett had used the term ``computer art" several times. Would the time come when the ``computer" element of the category would become superfluous. ``Absolutely: spot on!".
It was, he said, an outdated term, but one that, in the two weeks leading up to the exhibition, several people had recommended he use so that ``ordinary folk had some kind of frame, something that they did have a comprehension of, which would connect with what it was I was talking about".
``I picked up the term 'computer art' because I thought people would then have an idea of what these people are dealing with.
``By and large most artists are much more interested in juxtapositioning, making unexpected juxtpositioning, which is one of the favorite tactics of artists in whatever medium they work in.
``And I think that's the main thing that would characterise a lot of the work in this exhibition . . . is those kind of unusual conjunctions."
Burning the Interface
© 1996 The Age