Digital printmaking symposium

One of Dan Hays Colorardo impressions series.


I went along to the V&A last weekend for a symposium on new approaches to digital printmaking. This was in association with the University of the Arts, (Fade) The ARHC, and the Computer Arts Society.

I wasn't sure what to expect, but I was following up my interests in digital work. There were a number of artists talking about their work and introducing work, including Tim Head, Kathy Prendergast and Dan Hays. Dan Hays showed some of his Colorado series of paintings and talked about his work with Lectilinear prints.There was a good overview of the use of computers in producing art from the early days, and a great interview between Paul Coldwell and Michael Craig Martin. Here his work Signs of Life Kunsthaus and Eye Test.


Michael Craig-Martin also has a couple of classic bright coloured works as animated screen savers here
I was not surprised that artists had taken to the new computer technology almost as soon as it was produced. I think as artists we are always looking at the potentialities of new technology. Though along with each increase in technology there have been problems from areas of the art world concerned with the commercial aspects of selling digital prints for instance and with collaborative work.
Tim Head Illicit Light screen shot from a generative computer animation.

Gill Saunders a curator of prints from the V&A highlighted some of the problems of collecting digital work from the past to the contemporary digital work that only exists in files. The V&A have apparently been in the forefront of collecting digital prints.

I came away interested in all the possibilities of digital art work, though realising I would definitely need a lot of technical support for the sort of work that I'd seen.