SchoolArts - August/September 2007

Laurence Gartel

It’s been a real journey, that’s for sure. When I started creating digital art there were no personal computers or hard drives, no commercial software programs, no scanners, and no digital cameras. I had to invent some of the analog systems that allowed me to manipulate images through various devices, mostly using wires and knobs.

meaningful or not? Are they too informal in a not-so-friendly world? When sending electronic art images, do they hold any value? Art was special years ago because it was original.

Now that everything can be copied, does it hold the same importance?

The evolution of digital technology has most certainly changed the face of commerce. In the area of art, everyone has a computer on their desk, and most designers and artists have Adobe Photoshop.

In the early days, few people had access to computer systems. They were only available at research laboratories and chances are those were military institutions. Time on these machines was very limited and extremely costly. You either had to have a pre-conceived idea of what you were trying to achieve, or work fast in “trial and error” mode.

Laurence Gartel, Coney Island Baby, 1999. Gartel First Studio, Experimental Telerion Center, NY.

Back in the Day Before the personal computing revolution, one had to be skillful in manipulating the hardware in order to produce anything. Then the aesthetic had to be there, as in “will this interest someone or not?” “Is the image arresting?” “Is it thought-provoking?” There were a lot of variables in the early days. But indeed, my dear colleague Nam June Paik taught me to think outside the box and push the limits on what may not have been there before. To create something new and unique was always the goal.

Digitizing Design

Alas, our whole society today is technology-based. It is part of our daily world. Back in 1975 life was quite different. No Internet. No immediate correspondence beyond the telephone. Information and its access were quite limited. You had to rely strictly on your imagination being in real time. Today, when you forget something you can type it into a search engine and immediately retrieve the answer.

Along with opening new opportunities, the Internet has created a very competitive world. We are still dealing with the ramifications of all this. Are e-mail correspondences

printed fairly well, but there was no spirit or soul in the work. There was little in the picture to ponder, question, or engage the viewer in any interaction. It is very possible that the lack of audience participation in any work of art is considered to be boring. More than anything else, a work must capture its viewer in order to be deemed worthy.

I recall a very old Pablo Picasso
painting of a guitar on which the
artist put a lit-
tle bit of string.
It was so bril-
liant and subtle
that it made
me stand and
gaze in wonder.
What’s special

is when an artist takes a different approach, another direction, and does things differently than most. In my estimation, it’s the combination of things in a unique juxtaposition that encourages new ideas and future thought.

Today there are 10 mega pixel
cameras that cost less than a
1. 4 mega pixel camera did ten
years ago. The question is,
what can you do with it?

Is New Always Better?

Today computer systems and memory are inexpensive. Today there are 10 mega pixel cameras, that cost less than a 1. 4 mega pixel camera did ten years ago. The question is, what can you do with it? Where’s the art?