Update from the Digital Art Department

Last night I went to watch the Digital Art and Computer-Programming Art classes present their final semester projects. I was curious to see what would come out of a semester of focusing on the technology rather than the theory. The Digital Art students' projects' took the form of increasingly bizarre powerpoint presentations. What I was really struck by in their presentations was the ability to manipulate the expectations of the viewer. We computer users are so programmed in what to expect from a machine--that it will only react when we click something, that when you exit out of a window it's gone and won't come back again, that the screen will only react in certain ways. Thus, it is jarring when those expectations are not met, like, for example, when a window starts shaking for no reason, or collapses then reopens randomly a few seconds later. These techniques could be valuable tools for an internet artist. There really is the ability to scare a computer user, to surprise them with something totally unexpected.

The programmers made flash games. The bulk of these reminded me of extremely simplified versions of the adventure games we looked at this semester, with a character using an accumulation of tools to explore an environment to solve a mystery or find some important lost item. The twist was that these games required the use of physical tools other than the mouse and keyboard. Sensor devices were hooked up to the computers and played an integral part in the games. One involved a crown that the user wore, another had a flashlight, magnifying glass, and book that the user had to manipulate along with the mouse to find certain clues. The palette of the internet artist grew before my eyes, and I knew I was only seeing the tip of the iceberg. New technologies are being developed everyday that could be used as powerful aspects of a piece of internet art, making it utterly unique.

In the end, though, I have to say I was much more impressed by our classes final projects. They were, on the whole, much more polished and meaty in their subject matter; and they all had a thought-out purpose. None of them had that slapped-together, I-don't-know-what-I'm-doing-so-I'll-try-to-make-it-funny feel. Well done. A tip of the hat.