CAN YOU SPOT THE DIFFERENCE?

INTRODUCTION
• TECHNOLOGY HAS LITERALLY TAKEN OVER EVERY ASPECT OF LIFE IN THE
21ST CENTURY, AND THE CREATIVE AND VISUAL ARTS HAVE NOT BEEN
SPARED. IN FACT, FOR THE YOUNGER GENERATIONS, ART AS YOU KNOW IT
IS DEFINED BY TECHNOLOGY—FROM ITS CREATION, TO ITS MANIPULATION,
TO ITS REPRODUCTION, AND EVEN TO ITS DISTRIBUTION.
TECHNOLOGY-BASED ART
• IS ESSENTIALLY COMPUTER-GENERATED AND/OR MANIPULATED. THROUGH
THE CENTURIES, VISUAL ARTISTS USED ACTUAL BRUSHES AND PALETTES,
AND A WHOLE ARRAY OF PAINTS, INKS, AND NATURAL PIGMENTS APPLIED TO
PAPER, CANVAS, FABRIC, STUCCO WALLS AND CEILINGS. TODAY’S COMPUTER
ARTISTS EMPLOY THE EVER-EXPANDING POWERS OF IMAGE MANIPULATION
PROGRAMS AND APPLICATIONS TO CREATE THEIR WORKS WHICH CAN
APPEAR IN AN ENTIRE RANGE OF MEDIA—WHETHER AS A PHYSICAL OUTPUT
OR A VIRTUAL EXPERIENCE.
ORIGIN & EARLY STAGES OF DIGITAL ARTS
• COMPUTER ART OR DIGITAL ART FIRST CAME ON THE SCENE IN THE EARLY
1960S. UNDERSTANDABLY, THIS WAS DUE TO THE TECHNOLOGY THAT WAS
CONSTANTLY DEVELOPING AND THAT BECAME AVAILABLE AT THAT TIME.
THUS, THE EARLY EXPERIMENTERS WERE NOT NECESSARILY ARTISTS, BUT
ENGINEERS AND SCIENTISTS WHO HAD ACCESS TO AND EXPERIENCE WITH
THE HARDWARE NEEDED. IT WAS THEY WHO BEGAN TO RECOGNIZE THE
POTENTIAL OF ARTISTIC EXPRESSION THROUGH THE APPLICATION OF
SCIENTIFIC AND MATHEMATICAL PRINCIPLES.
ORIGIN & EARLY STAGES OF DIGITAL ARTS
• ALSO UNDERSTANDABLE WAS THE INITIAL REACTION OF THE PUBLIC TO
COMPUTER-GENERATED ART. THERE WERE QUESTIONS AS TO WHETHER IT
WAS, IN FACT, “TRUE ART” SINCE IT MADE USE OF ELECTRONIC AND
MECHANICAL DEVICES, RATHER THAN THE ARTIST’S OWN HAND, TO
PRODUCE THE IMAGES AND EFFECTS. WITHIN A FEW YEARS, HOWEVER,
THERE WAS A GENERAL ACCEPTANCE OF DIGITAL ART AS AN EXCITING AND
THOUGHT-PROVOKING FORM OF MODERN ART.
ORIGIN & EARLY STAGES OF DIGITAL ARTS
•EXHIBITS OF COMPUTER ART BECAME HIGHLY POPULAR AND
CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED, AS DIGITAL ARTISTS OR COMPUTER ART
MASTERS OR “SUPERSTARS” CAME TO THE FORE IN EUROPE,
RUSSIA, AND THE UNITED STATES.
EXAMPLE OF ART WORKS

POLYGON DRAWINGS-FRIEDER NAKE,1965

EXAMPLE OF ART WORKS

SCHOTTER( “GRAVEL”)-GEORG NEES-1965

EXAMPLE OF ART WORKS

(DES) ORDRES-VERA MOLNAR,1974

EXAMPLE OF ART WORKS

MOUNTAIN AND STAUROLYTE-RONALD DAVIS, 1997

EXAMPLE OF ART WORKS

MANFRED MOHR,1999
EXAMPLE OF ART WORKS

OLGA KISSELEVA,2012
EXAMPLE OF ART WORKS

JEAN –PIERRE HERBERT,2007

•SOME DIGITAL ARTISTS HAVE EVEN USED THEIR WORKS
TO EXPRESS THEIR VIEWS ON POLITICAL, SOCIAL, AND
CULTURAL ISSUES; AS WELL AS TO ADVOCATE CAUSES
THAT ARE CRITICAL TO MODERN LIFE, SUCH AS THE
ENVIRONMENT AND CLIMATE CHANGE. OTHERS EVEN
EXPLORE THE PHILOSOPHICAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AND THE ARTS.
 THE PHILIPPINE SCENE
•IN OUR COUNTRY, FILIPINO ARTISTS WERE LIKEWISE
INFLUENCED BY THE TECHNOLOGY TREND IN ART. HOWEVER, THIS
WAS MORE IN THE COMMERCIAL SPHERE. FROM THE 1960S TO
THE 1990S, THEIR COMPUTER-GENERATED WORKS WERE
PRIMARILY GEARED TOWARDS ILLUSTRATING FOR
INTERNATIONAL COMIC BOOKS.
 THE PHILIPPINE SCENE
•IN FACT, FILIPINO ILLUSTRATORS EARNED QUITE A REPUTATION
FOR THEIR TALENTS AND WERE HIGHLY IN DEMAND IN THIS FIELD.
THEY EVENTUALLY BECAME EQUALLY SOUGHT AFTER AS
ANIMATORS FOR SOME OF THE MAJOR FILM PRODUCTION
COMPANIES IN THE UNITED STATES, AS WELL AS ANIMATED
TELEVISION SERIES PRODUCED IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES.
 THE PHILIPPINE SCENE
•EVENTUALLY, HOWEVER, THE CONCEPT OF COMPUTER-GENERATED
WORKS AS A MEANS OF SERIOUS ARTISTIC EXPRESSION GAINED
GROUND AMONG THE YOUNGER GENERATION OF LOCAL ARTISTS.
TODAY, EVEN THE MORE ESTABLISHED NAMES IN THE FIELD—
ARTISTS AND CRITICS ALIKE—HAVE COME TO ACCEPT AND
RECOGNIZE DIGITAL WORKS AS FINE ART.
 THE PHILIPPINE SCENE
• TO VIEW WORKS BY PHILIPPINE ARTISTS EMPLOYING DIGITAL ART TECHNIQUES, YOU
MAY VISIT THE WEBSITES OF THE MORE PROGRESSIVE MUSEUMS AND ART
ORGANIZATIONS. AMONG THESE ARE:
• THE CENTER FOR ART AND THOUGHT –
HTTP://WWW.CENTERFORARTANDTHOUGHT.ORG/
• DEVIANT ART – HTTP://WWW.DEVIANTART.COM/BROWSE/ALL/DIGITALART/
• THE ATENEO ART GALLERY – HTTP://WWW.ATENEOARTGALLERY.ORG/
• YUCHENGCO MUSEUM – HTTP://YUCHENGCOMUSEUM.ORG/
PHILIPPINE DIGITAL ARTS

CITYSCAPE-ANTONIO GORORDO, 2010-2012

•THERE ARE ALSO INSTITUTIONS OFFERING TRAINING COURSES ON
THE DIGITAL ARTS, SUCH AS THE FIRST ACADEMY OF COMPUTER
ARTS, THE PHILIPPINE CENTER FOR CREATIVE IMAGING (PCCI), AS
WELL AS THE TECHNICAL EDUCATION AND SKILLS DEVELOPMENT
AUTHORITY (TESDA) THROUGH SCHOLARSHIPS GIVEN BY THE
ANIMATION COUNCIL OF THE PHILIPPINES (ACPI). COURSES SUCH AS
THESE OPEN UP AN ARRAY OF CAREER OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOUNG
FILIPINOS IN THE FIELDS OF ADVERTISING, ANIMATION DESIGN,
MULTIMEDIA COMMUNICATION, AND WEB DEVELOPMENT
 COMPUTER/DIGITAL ART
•COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY HAS BY NOW INVADED EVERY ASPECT
OF MODERN LIFE. IT WAS, THEREFORE, INEVITABLE THAT IT WOULD
DEVELOP INTO FORMS AND DEVICES THAT COULD BE MASS
PRODUCED, MASS DISTRIBUTED, AND THEREFORE WIDELY
ACCESSIBLE TO EVERYONE.
•IN OTHER WORDS, ANYONE WITH A COMPUTER
DEVICE— FROM A DESKTOP PC TO A LAPTOP, TO A
TABLET OR ANDROID PHONE—CAN NOW CAPTURE
AND EDIT IMAGES AND VIDEOS; CREATE, MANIPULATE,
AND SHARE WORKS OF ART; AND EVEN COMPOSE
MUSIC. YOU CAN BE—AND PROBABLY ALREADY ARE—
A DIGITAL ARTIST IN YOUR OWN RIGHT.
 COMPUTER/DIGITAL ARTS

•MAKE USE OF ELECTRONIC AND MECHANICAL DEVICES,

RATHER THAN THE ARTIST’S OWN HAND, TO PRODUCE THE
DESIRED IMAGES AND EFFECTS. THUS, THESE ARE
DEFINITELY TECHNOLOGY-BASED ART FORMS.
ACTIVITY #1
• 1. WAS DIGITAL ART READILY ACCEPTED AND RECOGNIZED AS “TRUE ART”
WHEN IT EMERGED IN THE 1960S? WHAT WAS THE REASON FOR THIS?
• 2. WHAT DEVICES CAN NOW BE USED TO CREATE DIGITAL ART? DO YOU
OWN ONE SUCH DEVICE?
• 3. NAME ONE OR TWO COMPUTER PROGRAMS THAT CAN ENABLE YOU TO
CREATE AN ORIGINAL ILLUSTRATION FROM SCRATCH.
 RESEARCH ACTIVITY
• RESEARCH ONLINE FOR THE WORKS OF ANY TWO OF THESE DIGITAL ARTISTS:
JAMES FAURE WALKER
GEORGE GRIE
OLGA KISSELEVA
JOHN LANDSDOWN
PERRY WELMAN
MANFRED MOHR
RONALD DAVIS
JOSEPH NECHVATAL JEAN-PIRRE HEBERT
MOBILE PHONE ART/COMPUTER-GENERATED
IMAGES
• THE MOBILE PHONE THAT YOU CONSTANTLY HOLD HAS EVOLVED FROM A
MERE COMMUNICATION TOOL, INTO A CREATIVE DEVICE THAT ALLOWS YOU
TO GENERATE ORIGINAL WORKS OF ART FOR AN ENTIRE RANGE OF
PURPOSES. THESE COULD BE PERSONAL PHOTOGRAPHS AND VIDEOS THAT
YOU CAN MANIPULATE WITH A MYRIAD SPECIAL EFFECTS, BOTH VISUAL AS
WELL AS SOUND AND MUSIC. THEY COULD ALSO BE SCHOOL PROJECTS OR
REPORTS THAT REQUIRE YOU TO COMBINE IMAGES, INCORPORATE TEXT,
EVEN INCLUDE SIMPLE ANIMATION.
•AND THE WONDER OF IT ALL IS THAT YOU CAN DO ALL THESE
RIGHT ON YOUR OWN MOBILE DEVICES, PARTICULARLY THE NEW-
GENERATION MODELS KNOWN AS ANDROID TABLETS, PHONES,
AND COMBINATION OF BOTH CALLED “PHABLETS.” PERFORM
MANUALLY—CROPPING, RETOUCHING, AIRBRUSHING—ARE
NOW JUST A FEW OF THE MANY EDITING EFFECTS DONE FOR YOU
WITH SPLIT-SECOND EASE AT THE CLICK OF A MOUSE, A
KEYBOARD COMMAND, OR A FEW TAPS AND DRAGS OF YOUR
FINGER ON A TOUCH SCREEN.
YOU ARE PROBABLY ALREADY FAMILIAR WITH THE
FOLLOWING IMAGE MANIPULATION PROGRAMS AND
APPLICATIONS THAT RUN ON TODAY’S ANDROID DEVICES:
• PIXLR – A POWERFUL, FREE ONLINE IMAGE EDITOR
• PIC COLLAGE – ALLOWS YOU TO MAKE COLLAGES INCORPORATING PHOTOS, STICKERS,
TEXT, AND FRAMES
• PHOTO GRID – A DOWNLOADABLE APPLICATION FOR ANDROID PHONES THAT ALLOWS
YOU TO MAKE COLLAGES OUT OF IMAGES FROM YOUR PHOTO GALLERY
• DOODLE BOOTH – AN IPAD APPLICATION (WITH A FREE DOWNLOADABLE VERSION) THAT
ENABLES YOU TO ‘DOODLE’ ON YOUR IMAGES USING AVAILABLE STICKERS
• PHOTO BOOTH – AN APPLICATION FOR TAKING PHOTOS AND VIDEOS USING AN IPAD OR
IPAD MINI (A VERSION FOR THE IPHONE, CALLED SIMPLE BOOTH, IS ALSO AVAILABLE)
• MAGIC MIRROR BOOTH – AN IPHONE APPLICATION THAT ALLOWS YOU TO TAKE
AMUSING, DISTORTED IMAGES, SIMULATING CAMERA EFFECTS
• PIC MONKEY – A FREE ONLINE PHOTO EDITING TOOL THAT PROVIDES FILTERS, FRAMES,
TEXT, AND EFFECTS TO MANIPULATE YOUR IMAGES
• FLIPAGRAM –A DOWNLOADABLE APPLICATION THAT ALLOWS YOU TO ‘BRING YOUR
PHOTOS TO LIFE’ IN SHORT VIDEOS SET TO MUSIC OF YOUR CHOICE
• PICSART – A FREE PHOTO EDITOR AND DRAWING APPLICATION, AS WELL
AS A SOCIAL NETWORK FOR YOU TO SHARE YOUR ART WITH OTHERS
• SNAPSEED – A PHOTO APPLICATION THAT ENABLES YOU TO ENHANCE,
TRANSFORM, AND SHARE YOUR PHOTOS; A FREE DOWNLOADABLE VERSION
FOR ANDROID PHONES IS AVAILABLE
• INSTAGRAM – A FAST AND FUN WAY TO SHARE IMAGES WITH OTHERS;
SNAP A PHOTO, CHOOSE FROM AMONG THE AVAILABLE FILTERS, AND SHARE
VIA FACEBOOK, TWITTER, TUMBLR, AND MORE
• EACH OF THESE HAS AN EXTENSIVE ARRAY OF SPECIAL FEATURES YOU CAN
USE TO MODIFY YOUR IMAGES. AMONG THESE ARE: FRAMES, BORDERS,
AND BANNERS; FILTERS, CROPPING IN DIFFERENT SHAPES, AUTOMATIC
COLLAGE OR COLOR CHANGE, STICKERS, TEXT BUBBLES; EFFECTS SUCH AS
WARP, SKEW, TUNNEL, FISH EYE, AND NEGATIVE; ADDING “SPOT COLOR” TO
ONLY CERTAIN ELEMENTS OF AN IMAGE; CREATING A PHOTO MONTAGE
WITH MUSIC. SOME PROGRAMS EVEN MAKE IT POSSIBLE TO HAVE ANY
PHOTO SIMULATE A WORK OF ART IN A WHOLE RANGE OF MEDIA—FROM
OIL TO WATERCOLOR TO PEN AND INK TO CHARCOAL TO OIL PASTELS TO A
WARHOL POSTER TO A JAPANESE WOODBLOCK PRINT.