TECH as TOOLS

Digital Technologies as Tool examines digital manipulation as a powerful force that permanently alters our process and outlook on art moving forward.

Walter Benjamin brings up the point technology allows for greater accessibility for manipulation, opening opportunities to reproduce and reinvent images. Authenticity is now becoming more relevant and valued in our eyes – we shun those that are fake or insincere, and it carries a heavy weight of stigma in our mass produced media, pop culture and in our social interactions. But when everything becomes so accessible to the point of repetition, how can we remain original in our attempts? The quote, “Everything is a copy of a copy of a copy,” comes to mind.

I am curious about the process of Csuri’s SineScrape piece, which employs mathematical functions of waves applied by procedure to produce digital imagery. I am unsure of what this process entails, but am impressed with its modern day use to compose composites for missing persons.

As the text shift focus to advertising, I pay extra careful attention as I intend to enter this industry. In discussing digital image manipulation with branding and the conception of art agencies, the text discusses the power of association coming into play. This reminds me of the importance of branding, and how it can be so powerful that, if done effectively, the smallest associations can be connotative of a brand. For example, the trademarked robin egg blue color associated with luxury retailer Tiffany & Co. branding is pervasive. It is ubiquitous, aggressive even, and is served best when universally recognized. The overall tone of the text implies an unescapable and interconnected quality of art in tech and digital manipulation, with Tiffany & Co. being just one example of such power. As the text also includes, this prompts a sense of hyper awareness from its viewers — us, as the intended audience.

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