Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Lake Tahoe: CADRE Show Review


             The Lake Tahoe CADRE Show was a great show to view new and abstract forms of digital art.  The interactive methods used in some of the pieces to show the art made a very entertaining way to experience the artwork. 
            The most memorable and thoughtful piece was probably “Life Calendar” by Steve Durie.  The piece of art was not so much digital media but more so print media.  On this single sheet of paper, the average lifespan of a human being was printed in days.  When viewing it the text is so small that at first you don’t really see what is being presented. However, the closer you look you begin to realize exactly what you are looking at.  In a way it makes you feel as though your life just shrunk.  It takes such a long period of time and shrinks it down to a very small scale.   The idea of taking something so big and so relatable to every human being then making it so small brings one feelings of insignificance in a way.
            Another piece “PixelBoard” by DC Spensley & Peter Spangler was a great demonstration of bring digital media and public interaction together.  These gentlemen brought art to the modern day technology.  Nowadays almost everyone has a smartphone or tablet.  The introduction of this work with a QR code to scan is very intriguing and helps the average user get involved right away. It was probably one of the more entertaining and fun pieces of work at the show. It definitely gave the user something to “play” with and become the art.  That is really the beauty of this work.  The fact that these gentlemen let the public create the art from anywhere in the world while it is displayed in a gallery shows just how effective working with digital media can be as an art form.
            Joseph Delappe’s “Taliban Hands” were another piece that emphasized on game art in a very serious way.  Generally, many gamers don’t realize what they are doing or what type of character they are playing. Joseph Delappe brings the Taliban hand models out of the game and into real life.  Why the hands? Possibly to emphasize the actions that the hands commit in game; rather, the actions the player commits while playing.  This use of digital media to bring realization of these actions can be used to make a statement against war, terror, or even the message the video game itself is sending to the players. 
            All of these works are very innovative and creative ways to use digital media. Video games are made to be interactive and to be played.  Perhaps this is the most effective way to perform art in digital media. The interaction between the user and the media allows the viewer to be immersed in the work. It also allows the viewer to hopefully understand and feel much closer to the artwork and the point it is making. Our generation is so technologically influenced in every way. Websites and media constantly bombard us with advertising and subliminal messages.  Perhaps this is the most effective way to communicate in today’s society; our minds are constantly trained to do so in this manner.  

No comments:

Post a Comment