Digiscape Digiscape Digiscape!!!

Digital Printmaking Project 3
Digiscape: DUE May 4

There has been a long tradition of landscape painting in American art. After the confusion of early colonization, American artists began to depict the incredible landscape around them in oil paintings. This tradition continues to this day. This generation and the generation to come will also be faced with the subject of landscape, however, it might take on a different form. This new Landscape or digiscape exists solely inside the digital world, comprised of million upon millions of bits of data. Like "Real" landscape, within this metaphysical digiscape, everything is in a constant state of flux, with each person perceiving it from a different point of view. Unlike the "Real", the digiscape abides by a different set of rules, not constrained by the properties of the physical world. In this way, the digiscape is analogous to the dream world, constrained only by the limits of human imagination.

The question is, what does your digiscape look like? In this assignment use images that you find online, along with at least five images of your own, to create three virtual renderings of what the digiscape might look like. Experiment and alter the relationships between elements by changing their size, scale and transparency. Think of this as an opportunity to realize a personal and original vision of an electronic space, rather than a re-creation of something you have seen before, i.e., slick, geometric, computer graphic spaces or the psychedelic fractal-scapes of which we are already familiar. Experiment enough to create at least three variations of your idea.

Requirements: The finished images should be flattened (no layers) .PSD or .TIFF files and must be at LEAST 12000 x 3600 pixels (width x height)/40” x 12-18”. The resolution should be 300 DPI. In addition, please include a .JPG version of your images at a pixel width of no greater then 900 @ 72 DPI.

INDEPENDENT RESEARCH
Everyone is expected to find at least 3 contemporary artists using the landscape that are working in ways that they find inspirational. Work by these artists will be gathered either from the web or from books, and presented to the class in a coherent digital (projected) format. Examples from these artists along with five preliminary sketches should be posted on your blog. During the process you should also comment on at least three other student blogs.

WRITTEN STATEMENTS
A one-page typewritten statement explaining the visual, emotional, and intellectual motivations behind the work presented at critique must be handed in at the start of each critique. This should also be posted on your blog.

Technical details of the project must also be included, including what worked and what did not, so future students can learn form your experiments. Include name, class, semester, year, and project title, at the top of each document.


ASSIGNMENTS WILL BE EVALUATED
BASED ON THE FOLLOWING CRITERIA:

CONCEPT - idea, intention and meaning. Does the artwork clearly communicate something to other viewers?

CREATIVITY - originality of thought and expression. Does the artwork show innovation and uniqueness? Did the artist solve the given assignment problem in an expected or unexpected way?

COMPOSITION - arrangement and organization of elements. Has the artist carefully considered elements such as balance, proportion, texture, color, shape, and positive/negative space?

CRAFTSMANSHIP - attention to detail. Does the artist skillfully manipulate the images? Are all details carefully finished and/or intentional-looking?