#13 Cultural Canvas: Paris' Digital Depths and Artistic Innovations
#13 Cultural Canvas: Paris' Digital Depths and Artistic Innovations
👋 Hello, we are Julian and Marcel, and welcome to our weekly edition of The Curious Collector. Each week we humbly curate what’s happening in the digital art realm. ✨
It is a subscriber-only newsletter, delivered every Sunday, highlighting mainly digital and sometimes physical art news.
Welcome! In this edition, we delve into the vibrant heart of Paris and journey through the city's pulsating digital art scene. Our Notable Insight challenges the narrative that confines digital art to the era of NFTs.
Over in our tech corner, we explore the symbiotic relationship between AI and art and give you a sneak peek at Luke Shannon’s innovative exhibition, where he blurs the lines between generative art and functional design. Keep reading — there's more!
News Digest
Paris Photo: Returning for its 26th edition, the fair sets to highlight women artists and debut a digital art section curated by Nina Roehrs, bringing a diverse array of historic and emerging photographic practices to the Grand Palais Éphémère.
Warothy Edition: Alpha Centauri Kid, acclaimed for blending music with glitch art, has partnered with Avant Arte and the Medici Group to bring his digital work 'Warothy' to life through lenticular printing, encapsulating his iconic styles and storytelling.
Digital Art @ Paris: "Paris is alive. Paris is sound and light. Paris is digital art." Dive into the heart of the city's digital art scene and uncover the spots that offer a fresh and vibrant perspective of Paris.
Digital Highlight
François Vogel, a French artist with a scientific background, explores the intersection of reality and perception, using his camera to craft surreal experiences that challenge the viewer's perspective.
His work, which ranges from pinhole photography to installations and digital artworks, reflects a balance between commissioned pieces and personal projects, with inspiration drawn from simple daydreaming and long walks.
Notable Insight
“The digital art system would produce better and more interesting artworks and discussion if we stopped pretending digital art started around 2019/2020 and with the introduction of NFTs.”
Digital art has a history that extends well before the advent of NFTs and the associated hype. The current conversation around digital art, often centered on NFTs, overlooks its profound roots.
Artists like Manfred Mohr, Vera Molnár, and Lillian Schwartz were already pioneering digital art in the 60s and 70s, utilizing computational and algorithmic processes. A more nuanced conversation that acknowledges these roots is indeed necessary.
Sale Spotlight
The Currency, an artwork by Damien Hirst created in 2016, delved into the intersection of art and currency. This project prompted collectors to choose between a digital NFT and a physical artwork, both considered standalone artistic pieces. After a year, the unselected option was destroyed, blurring the lines between art and monetary value.
At the end of the exchange period on July 27, 2022, 4,851 of the total 10,000 owners chose the digital artwork.
Artist to Watch
Harm van den Dorpel is a Dutch artist based in Berlin, renowned for integrating evolving technological systems into his art, spanning sculptures to computer-generated works, driven by advanced algorithms that reflect subconscious creation.
He is also a pioneer in integrating art with blockchain technology, co-founding the digital art platform left.gallery, with his works showcased globally in prominent institutions.
Tech & Texture
Beyond the Canvas: The impact of AI and technology on modern and future art is profound, drawing parallels between historical art movements like Dadaism and Impressionism, which embraced disruptive technologies, to contemporary practices that utilize AI to forge new art forms — a fascinating evolution that makes for a great read.
Seating Arrangements: New exhibition on Tonic by Luke Shannon on the 17th of November that uses code to create digital blueprints for wooden chairs. The algorithm generates unique structures for each chair, in both form and function.
According to Sofia Garcia, he has continuously pushed his generative art practice into the world of design, including ceramics and textiles, and he’s just getting started.
Closing Remarks
As we wrap up this edition, keep in mind that we’ve only scratched the surface of the vast landscape of digital art. There’s much more to explore, so stay tuned for our next issue. Until then, don't hesitate to share this issue with friends who appreciate such content.