Contributing Artists

Chris S. Johnson

Exhibition Statement as Preserved in the SUGS/SITE Archives:

Mediums give us concepts, ideas and process unique to its time in history. With the advancement of technology the computer is now accessible to creative potential of the individual. The art in hte atrium represents a body of work produced to adcance the understanding of computers and art.  

Computer art represents a new and exciting art form. Within reach of the computer artist are tools for watercolor, oils, and airbrush. Papers, textures, variable brush sizes, millions of colors, masking materials, surface control, and tonal control are just some of the many possibilities available to the artist. A piece begins like any drawing, a mark on the surface or a preconceived idea. This idea is built up and broken down using color and form. After finishing a piece, it is saved on a disk and mailed to a service bureau for printing. Printing is done in several ways. One method uses layers of wax in the form of sheets, with the finished pring usually no larger than a standard letter. The Iris and the Bibble Jet pritners use ink-based technology to apply color to paper. The nearest printers needed for these large-scale prints are in Seattle. Waiting for the print is te hardest part, because colors viewed on the screen are red, green, and blue; whereas the printers use varying amounts of cyan, magenta, and yellow. Consequently, each print has the possibility of looking far different from that which the eye views on the computer screen. Some people are hesitant to accept computer art, beleiving it is an illegitimate child of some monarch. This may be due in part to the abandonment of actual contact with the final sheet of paper during the creative process. The computer prints challenge the artist to fnd and combine as many elements of collage, watercolor, drawing, oils, tonal and surface control as possible. In addition, computer art questions the viewer’s belief of what is real, by breaking the bounds of tradition. The computer brings the elements of art into a cohesive collective consciousness. It will never be able to mimic a true watercolor or oil painting, but it will have elements from each art form. Computers are everywhere from the doctor’s office to the library and many other places. Computer art is an exciting new development for the fine arts.