Art of technology?

Since the dawn of the visual art creation, the paintings were static. After all they embody someone’s ideas and imagination using canvas and paints or any other similar tools. You might ask, what else could there be? The development of computer technologies allows us to shift that paradigm. Using the computer screen as a canvas one could breathe a life into previously static paintings by introducing motion. One of the examples of this approach is 3D computer games. Often the quality of the images in the modern games can compare well with many works of painters-realists. Another example is dynamic images generated by various screen-savers. Could this be considered an art? Why not. After all, even paintings of Jackson Pollock seem to be a bit off in the framework of the classical visual art. Yes, all of these new developments might seem strange and rather unconventional; however advances of the technological progress allow us to bring to life what appeared unattainable just yesterday.


I’d like to highlight another example of a new art trend the dynamic painting. This novel direction was introduced only several years ago by Canadian painter San Base, who pioneered creation of dynamic images using state of the art computer technology. Unlike 3D images created by many computer artists, his paintings are composed of abstract images in the state of a perpetual never repeating transformation. The overall idea of the painting remains unchanged, while computer introduces continuous variations, resembling an artist at work. The colors and shapes go through the changes and the image slowly flows and transforms. The traditional painting has acquired the dimension of time. This creates an extraordinary show at any moment in time the painting is different, and catching even a glimpse of it, one becomes completely engrossed in the experience.


Since the images of a dynamic painting are produced by computer, one might question artist’s involvement in the process. So who in the end creates the painting an artist or a computer? This is what San Base has to say about it.

“Of course an artist creates the painting. A computer can’t create anything at its will and it doesn’t embody any creativity. It’s just a tool that works according to a predefined algorithm. The dynamic painting could have many varying parameters that computer can change them to create new instances of a painting, however it can’t create anything on its own.”


A looking at a dynamic painting might create a perception that you see purely the fruits of computer’s imagination. The endless variations of colors and shapes make it hard to believe that a person has devised such a complex scheme. Some of the paintings are so good they are worthy to be printed on a canvas and to be displayed in the best galleries throughout the world. On the other hand, it is the unpredictability and dynamics that make dynamic painting so attractive. A unique image teases your imagination and in a few moments it fades only to give a way to other astonishing picture. One can always expect something new and unusual from a dynamic painting.


I think art critics will be arguing about art status of the dynamic paintings for the years to come. On the other hand, what difference does it make how you label it? The dynamic paintings are beautiful and fascinating. This direction is new and eccentric. The progress can’t be halted and something that looks like an exotic creation will soon become a common element of an interior design.

Reference: www.sanbase.com