Chapter 2

Chris Skae
Digital Imaging
February 19. 2008
Chapter 2


Digital Art has many different characteristics that can be used to describe it. So, unlike traditional art, two completely different pieces made of completely different materials can all fall under the same classification. One of these forms of digital arts is the installation. Installations in digital art can range from creating an environment that the viewer can interact with or be a part of. One such example would be Jeffrey Shaw’s The Legible City. In The Legible City Shaw created a city completely structured out of large three-dimensional words and sentences that the view navigates through while peddling on a stationary bike. The viewer that is riding the bike is able to control how fast they navigate through the virtual city by how quickly they peddle. In this way, Shaw combined the physical world with the digital world by giving the viewer the ability to control where and how fast they go through this city that is projected onto the wall in front of them. This is known as relationship architecture.
Another completely different form of digital installations uses light as the primary element to create an environment. Erwin Redl would take LED lights, normally as vast curtains, and have them spread throughout the room, covering walls and doorways. The LEDs would sometimes slowly change colors as well. Unlike Shaw, who brought the physical world to the virtual realm, Redl is bringing the virtual realm to the physical world by using the LEDs to create a giant bit-map on the walls of the exhibit.

photo manipulation