History of Digital Art

Catalog description

This course surveys the emerging world of digitally originated and exhibited artwork. A wide range of digital art formats are examined, including (but not limited to) 2-D, 3-D, motion, interactive, immersive, sensor-based, internet-based and "gamification." Key art historical influences in the technology of art creation from the Renaissance to the 21st century are explored. Major art periods such as Fluxus, Conceptual, Dada and Post-Modernism are reviewed as they relate to the development and growth of the late 20th-century digital art movement. Students investigate the history and growth of international public art paradigms and practices and their connections to digital art through civic, public and private institutions. Students also examine the relationship between digital art and the industry of creative design and media. Through active visual research of curated digital art pieces students discover a wide array of critically noted digital artists and their work. Finally, students consider the new aesthetics of digital art, comparing and contrasting them to more conventional art formats and exhibition models.