Post #596031 by AlohaStation on Sun, Jul 3, 2011 10:42 AM

I feel your pain. As a graphic designer the computer is a required piece of equipment. When I first began my career everything was done by paste-up. I learn how to use and operate linotype machines to set type for paste-up. Using a stat camera and figuring out screen angles, combining those things with Ruby/Amberlith to create mechanicals, and ending up with matchprints. As technology progressed, so did my desire to learn these new technolgies. I watched as high-paid film strippers and fine photographers became unskilled labor and desperate for computer knowledge. And we are now looking at a job market that does not value experience over technical knowledge. We are in another cycle of digital evolution. Designers that have not kept up their skills in web and interactive media will be left behind. Design has become paperless and with that, design needs are changing as well. Pads and phones are taking over where books and personal conversations ruled. There is no need for the overhead of creating a bound book or printed brochures - when you can download it and store it without creating clutter. If you want it printed - print it yourself. Any company wants their product to be cheap to produce and sell. Taking away out-of-date processes is inevitable.

Is digital Art - "real" art? Only the person viewing it can make that decision. Personally I say - yes. The computer is a tool that allows more artistic freedom and creative expression to be be expressed in a faster medium. There are some artists that recieve big $$$ for their digital paintings. Would you buy an original digital painting? - probably not - unless you intend to use it in a digital format. The computer also allows artists to show their art to a larger audience.

My carving came out of a need to escape the digital world. Even now, when I tell people that I am both a designer and woodcarver I get bizarre looks and strange reactions. Very few people see that relationship between the artist and the designer. For me one is business and the other is fun - I'll let you figure out which is which. Some day when my kids are grown, I may fully embrace the fine artist - but till then I will continue to use the computer in a way that best suits me.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder - so is the opinion about what is "ART".