Kevin Atherton

27-02-2005 | Presentations at SK1 |

Kevin Atherton

Head of Media Dept., National College of Art and Design, Dublin

The Digital Surface within Fine Art Practice
- A Research Project

‘The Digital Surface within Fine Art Practice’ was an EU, Culture 2000-funded collaborative research project between three European Art Colleges -

  • The London Institute – Camberwell and Chelsea Colleges of Art and Design
  • The University of Art and Design, Helsinki
  • The National College of Art and Design, Dublin.

The project took place in 2002-3 and received Culture 2000 funding on the basis of its commitment to deliver three tangible outcomes. These were –

  • A CD ROM which was produced by NCAD Dublin
  • A website which was created and hosted by UAD Helsinki: digitalsurface.net
  • A two day International Conference at Tate Britain which was organised by The London Institute and took place 27- 28th June 2003.

My presentation at the conference – Sensuous Knowledge: Creating a Tradition will be presented in two halves. In the first half I will talk about The Digital Surface within Fine Art Practice research project as a case study and I will illustrate this with a selection of art works from the CD – ROM. The range of work presented on this CDROM varies from traditional print making to virtual reality. In the second half of my presentation I will speculate about a potential research project into the value of the first research project. This could take the notion of the ‘virtual’ to a different level given that the life of the research project is only intended to be for the duration of it’s presentation and discussion with the audience in Bergen. The provisional title of this second research project is – A Virtual Research Proposal.

Part One: The Digital Surface within Fine Art Practice

The purpose of the project

To consider the issue of the digital surface within current fine art practice, through the specialism of three leading European research centres and in so doing create a European forum for the sharing and exchange of critical ideas, technology and good practice.

To enable artists/researchers to work as part of an overall European project, promoting a greater understanding of the range of cultural attitudes within Europe.

To bring to the work an enhanced sense of working within the European community, taking full advantage of the opportunities that new technology offers for both creative practice and the wide dissemination of knowledge.

The approach and methods adopted for the implementation of the project

Each institution will self select 4-5 artists who have already evidenced an engagement with the project’s concerns within their creative practice. Each will, through a dialogue with the overall project develops new artworks, which critically engage with the issue of surface within digital art.

At the start of the project, a website to be constructed to function as a forum within which the ongoing discussions of the project can be disseminated.

An initial seminar to be arranged at one of participating centres to allow for each artist to present their current practice and indicate their plans with regards to the projects aims.

Production of new artworks and research papers. A programme of exchange visits to maintain an active dialogue between the participating artists and create the potential for creative collaborations International symposium to disseminate the projects results and research.

The Objectives of the project

  • To demonstrate the creative links between traditional artistic practice and digital technology.
  • To develop a body of new artworks which challenge existing conventions of digital output by engaging with the issue of a personalised surface
  • To build upon the individual specialisms within the participating European partners while providing the framework for the creative exchange of ideas and practice.
  • To disseminate the research to a broad European audience, through an International symposium, CD-ROM, publications and preparation of exhibition.
  • To provide a European forum focusing on the role of new technology within fine art practice.

This project aims to explore within a broad Fine Art context, the changing nature of surface with reference to digital technology. Traditionally, artists have worked directly with surface as one of the principle indicators of meaning. How a mark was applied to a surface, whether this was paint onto canvas via a brush, or ink onto paper via a screened stencil, added a layer of meaning and revealed both artists intention and personality. Within Fine Art Practice an artist’s work would acquire its signature as much from the surface as the imagery that it contained. Approaches to this issue were multifarious, spanning the cool, mechanical untouched surface of for example the minimalists through to the brutalised coarse surfaces of art brut.

Artistic production has therefore offered a wide range of possibilities for the artist, both in terms of surface qualities and in physical presence. Digital output has by contrast placed a greater emphasis on refining definition, continuos tone and a perfect seamless surface. This project seeks to address this conflict and explore ways that these European artists engage with surface, whether on screen, projected, printed or other, when using digital technology within the production of artworks.

The wide use of digital technology now apparent within fine art practice has created the ideal conditions for creative debate across the disciplines of painting, sculpture, installation, printmaking and video. This European project seeks to create a forum to facilitate this exchange of ideas and skills. Each participating European institution brings to the overall project a particular specialism, UIAH-drawing/theory, NCAD-virtual reality/installation and London Institute, Printmaking/installation In addition the artists from each institution, link in their discipline and approach with artists working at the partner institutions.

An example of the way each individual college regards itself as having an individual focus around the issue of digital surface as a research team within the broader research team as a whole is provided by the way that, for example, NCAD in Dublin described itself

‘The members of the NCAD staff research group although different in their individual choice of media are never the less all concerned with an examination of aspects of the relationship between the real and the virtual. The works that each artist produces whether manifested as digital video, photography, internet work, print, or performance could all be described as individual virtual realities. All of the artists have arrived at this threshold between the virtual and the real via their own personnel artistic histories through painting, sculpture, performance, printmaking, video and photography. This diversity of practice engenders the group with a shared concern for the presentation of the finished art work with a desire to make the viewer’s experience of the work as dynamic and as engaging as possible.’

The anticipated results

  • Establishing creative links between the participating institutions and creating networks for continuing collaborations.
  • Links established through research website.
  • A body of new work which engages with the issue of surface within fine art practice.
  • The dissemination of the research to the wider community via a European symposium to be staged at one of the participating institutions, providing the platform for all the participating artists to present.
  • A CD-ROM published in association with the symposium, which functions to illuminate the individuals artists’ approach within the overall project question. This publication would provide valuable data about the context of this work within the artists overall concerns and share technical information and research and offer links to a range of research centres

All of the above-anticipated results were reached.

Part Two: A Virtual Research Project

This is a ‘virtual research project’, as distinct to a research project in virtual reality, and forms the second half of my presentation. My approach in this section of the presentation will be to speculate on a number of issues concerning thoughts about the experience of the The Digital Surface within Fine Art Practice research project. These thoughts in themselves could form the basis of another research project bid.

Topics for discussion with the audience, which might help in the formulation of this conceptual bid, will include:

  • If the Coldstream Report (UK -1961) resulted in an increase in part time teaching for artists and designers on the basis that it was beneficial to the teaching of art and design to have those at the cutting edge of practice contributing to the teaching of it, how does this relate to practice based research and why do the roles of teacher and researcher seem at the moment to be in danger of becoming more separated?
  • Are there some art and design practices that are inappropriate to practice based research?
  • Can good research occur as the result of bad practice?
  • Can practice based research be evaluated in a practice based way?
  • Once staff have been involved in practice based research can they ever go back to just practice?