Brief History of Digital/New Media Art
Digital art was coined in the early 1980's when Harold Cohen used a computer like apparatus to create marks on large sheets of paper placed on the floor (Lack and Wilson 63). This machine, called AARON, would be perfected over many years through technological advancement during that time.
Digital art, also called new media art, is quite varied. Prior to the advancement of modern video editing programs in the 1990’s, video artists such as Dana Birnbaum, Vito Acconci, and Joan Jonas would record with film and only edit in a very linear fashion by connecting clips one right after the other. With advances in technology like the introduction of video editing software, artists could manipulate video files beyond basic editing. This technology gave rise to a new school of video artists including Pipilotti Rist whose work is defined with digital masking and the use of green screens. Note: Video below does contain some nudity.
Video art has naturally expanded into video game art as video technology expanded into video game technology. This can be seen in the work of Angela Washko. She has been creating video pieces that explore sexism in video games since 2011 and recently released her first game, called The Game.
Games as Art.
Art games are “video games intended to provoke artistic ideas but still be understood contextually as games,” according to Lana Polansky. This applies broadly to digital art. Video art still possesses all the necessary requirements while also highlighting conceptual thought driving the piece. According to “Towards an Art History for Video games” by Lana Polansky, video game companies have been taking artistic risks since the start. She explains that even more financial backing was given to artistic endeavors during the start of the video game industry. In 1984, an initial effort to create a video game that could be seen as a work of art was released. Deus Ex Machina was released by Automata on cassette for the ZX Spectrum (Polansky). It was heavily influenced by “The Seven Ages of Man” from Shakespeare’s As You Like It. This game was not a commercial success and for a long time was viewed as an argument for the separation of art and commercial games with attitudes only changing in recent years following the success of art and indie games such as 2008’s Braid (Polansky).
Now, art games have entered a modern renaissance era with the successes of both individual artists and creators and an increasing focus of large studio commercial projects on artistic and conceptual aspects in mechanics and visual directions. Tied to a generation of artists raised using technology as a creative medium, the art game is now reaching a broad audience in a world with a constant appetite for new ideas and concepts.
Art is broadly considered a commentary and reflection on the times and environments of its creation, where major movements are able to be pinpointed to specific events, political responses, or locations that are examined by artists using the technological mediums of their era. Our modern era is the computer, the video, and the game.
Sources
Lack, Jessica, and Simon Wilson. The Tate Guide to Modern Art Terms. Tate Publishing , 2008.
Polansky, Lana. “Towards an Art History for Video games.” Rhizome, The New Museum in New York City., 3 Aug. 2016, rhizome.org/editorial/2016/aug/03/an-art-history-for-videogames/.