Electric Paint March 9, 2010

Electric Paint: The Computer as 21st Century Canvas brings together 70 works by 22 international artists to shed light on the phenomenon of computer-generated art found on web pages, galleries and virtual museums worldwide. Their work comprises altered photographs, free-hand painting with a mouse or graphics tablet, and fractals derived from the input of mathematical formulas resulting in fantastical portraits and landscapes that alter our sense of reality. The exhibition also includes digital video and paintings. A digital artist's tools and studio look nothing like the traditional artist's studio with its brushes, palettes, canvases, paper, paint tubes and easels scattered about. Instead, they work with myriad software programs to sketch and paint images on their computer screen or introduce digital photographs into their work, using electrons to bend, cut, paste, and fold images. Another technology involves using mathematical formulas to create fractals. In nature, a fractal is a complex, detailed geometric pattern repeated at ever-decreasing sizes. By changing the formula the artist creates an entirely new artwork.