The main theme and backdrop for my art history class this semester is the International Symposium on Electronic Art. We visited the UNM Art Museum, where there were several pieces and installations, all digital and some interactive. I thought it might good to share one since it seems to fit in with our idea of creativity, design, and perhaps thinking outside of the box, as well.
Gail Wight’s contribution, Hydraphila, was quite interesting.
What we have here is a 3 x 3 grid of displays that show the evolution of growths of the slime mold Physarum Polycephalum. Now, I know what you’re thinking but, in spite of how good it sounds, please do not put any of this on your Corn Flakes tomorrow. The images seen live are videos of time-lapse footage of the growth. Those are generally supposed to be displayed in a symmetrical way, as seen in the 3 x 3 grid. Although I contemplated this work for a considerable time, the Brady Bunch never showed up, so I was slightly disappointed by that.
I appreciate this effort because it uses technology and digital media to enable an exploration of beauty in unexpected places. In that regard it reminds me of electron scanning microscopes. The colors in these videos have been altered and, if you think about it, this work is not just the effort of a single artist, but a collaboration between the artist and the biological mold. Taking something that is alive and turning it into not just art, but digital art that can be manipulated, really blurs the lines that exist between art, science and design. I think it is important for designers to avoid getting comfortable, and to make sure they continue to color outside of the lines of conventions for the sake of exploring new, often vital, territory.
Eric Chamberlain 