BY GRAYCE COOPER
Art is the single most influential aspect in people's lives, and most of the time people don’t even recognize it's there. It takes all different forms, from the edifice of a building, to a performance on stage, or an interactive experiment to explore visual ideas. There are just too many examples of art to count. It is such a vast world of expression and creativity that many people have a problem understanding what is art and what isn't. The world of digital art is growing rapidly. This swift incline has pinched a nerve for many classical artists.
Generally speaking, when people speak of art, they are referring to iconic pieces such as the Mona Lisa or the Starry Night. These works of art are all paintings, physically assembled with a brush, canvas, and oils. I have lightly dabbled in the world of painting and drawing and I won’t be the first to tell you that it is not easy. At the start of quarantine, I vowed that I was going to expand my area of artistic experimentation due to the fact that I had an embarrassing amount of time on my hands. However, I quickly came to the realization that painting was not my strong suit when my sister thought my first artistic interpretation of a woman was, well, a horse. I nearly gave up on my art career before I discovered the capabilities of Microsoft Word. After messing around with old pictures from my laptop, I realized that I could actually make something that is pleasing to the eye.
I made a handful of collages on my computer representing various personality aesthetics through the use of photography that all had similar vibes. Do I consider these pieces of art? I didn’t even use a brush or a canvas to make these, so this isn’t art right? Well, the most amazing thing about art is that it isn’t about the ease of creation, but the emotion and effect it has on a person. Materials and tools may shift, but the constant in art is the emotion. Digital art is just another medium for artists to express themselves. Technology is just another brush available to an artist.
Collages by Grayce Cooper
@graycecooperr