AUTHOR: Alisha TITLE: Collecting Animation? DATE: 11/09/2004 06:15:00 PM ----- BODY:

If you haven’t yet taken a peek at Andrew Taylor’s blog, today is your day. This morning Andrew drew an unusual connection to the arts without really stating the obvious: How long before digital art weaves it’s way into areas of our culture market beyond just movies and video games? An interesting question, yet to me the answer it obvious. My 'SO' (significant other) just so happens to be one of these “exceptional artists” Andrew refers to. He is a great painter, without entirely understanding how to deal with his talent. I won’t bore you with my psychological analysis of this. My point… he also does incredible things in his day job with a large video game producer. Watching him balance these two worlds is like watching a strange modern dance. Simultaneously, I already know the outcome, yet I don’t want to blink and find I've missed something. As a painter, his eyes are as active as his hands and heart. His senses are alive and fully engaged in the process. The physical and mental process of making art is a workout. As a computer animator, his hands and mind are still busy but there is a lack of fluidity. Actions become less about intuition and more about practice, preparation, and planning. Andrew: If you want to see non-commercial arenas where digital art has changed and been enveloped by our cultural map, just visit Siggraph next year. Look into the demonstration rooms. View the film shorts. See what artists are doing to pull the medium into their work. But, please, let's all agree that unless the medium changes and becomes more tactile, there can be no easy placement of animated art next to painting, sculpture, or fine craft. Music appreciators will always want to feel a good live concert. Art appreciators will similarly always want to feel a great piece of art. Digital artists have a long, uphill road ahead if they wish to create that experience rather than just mimic it. Until there is a clearer line of acknowledgement to this problem, digital art will remain on computer screens, CD-ROM’s and student exhibitions. Herein, lies the problem, Andrew. Acknowledging the medium has a problem is really about noting that the collecting audience is still befuddled. You must first be attentive to their needs if you really wish to bring any new medium to the surface. Video is still trying to achieve this. Photography just got it right. Why ask what a great artist would do with this technology? Why not ask what an art collector will do with a digital masterpiece once they have bought it?

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