Still life Detail, Tenebrist Icon I 2011
In 1917 Marcel Duchamp created the artwork called ‘Fountain’ through no physical interaction with the object, save the action of choosing the object and placing it within a gallery context. Duchamp created a new narrative for the object, it ceased to be a functional urinal and became a work of art. With this complete estrangement from the physical craft of creating art, the artistic action became almost completely conceptual, an intangible craft, Duchamp was asking a question of society. Is Art only that which has a certain degree of skilled physical craft?
Similar questions are being raised today with the advent of digital art, where the creative process is to a certain extent is pre-programmed and repeatable, where the craft is confined to the virtual world, if it is considered craft at all. As computers and mobile technology continue to evolve, so does their relevance and use in the art world.
As an artist working in the twenty first century, I find my creative process increasingly centered around digital technology. I have come to believe that this technology is the most exciting thing to happen to art since they put paint in tubes. The creative process has never been so disrupted, supported and mobile as it is today. However I still like to mix paint in a bucket with a big stick.
Introduction
DAVID HEATHCOCK
