Posted on Nov 23, 2009

No paint, charcoal or clay was used to make the art now on display in The Wikoff Student Gallery’s newest exhibit. Instead, each piece in “The Illuminated Pixel” show was generated on a computer by students in “Intro to Digital Art” and “3D Computer Modeling.”

Dave Sayles '10, Candy Ribbon, 2009, pigmented ink on paper. For “Illuminated Pixel” show.

David Sayles ’10, an interdepartmental computer science and digital art major, was right at home using a machine to produce meaningful and beautiful images.

“When it comes right down to it, technology is just another tool, like the paint brush,” he said. “Pixels are squares on a screen used to represent any color you choose, and using a grid of pixels, any image can be created.”

“The computer is my favorite conduit for creating art because it’s so versatile,” continued Sayles, who took the “Intro to Digital Art” class. “You can make kinetic and interactive pieces, plus you can use scanners and cameras to bring in other media to manipulate. My piece in the show, for instance, is basically really big scans of food.”

Pamela April ’10, an interdepartmental art and anthropology major, took the 3D modeling course. And while she admits painting comes more naturally to her than the computer programs she used in class, she values technology as an artistic medium.

“Creating art digitally opened up a whole new world of art for me,” April said. “The computer allows you exact control over what you’re producing. You can delete, be precise, alter objects. You can create something familiar or something completely imaginary.

Pamela April '10, “Jonathan's Game II,” pigmented ink on paper. For “Illuminated Pixel” exhibit.

“Like more the conventional methods of painting or drawing, digital art still allows you to express yourself and communicate ideas through art.”

Open now through Sunday, Jan. 31, the exhibit also showcases the work of Lori Cassorla ’10, Phil Cohn ’13, Elizabeth Culp ’10, Rachel Feldman ’12, Vishnu Gollakota ’12, Rachel Guralnick ’11, Davis Knox ’11, Aaron Levine ’10, Liang Li ’11, Hallie Maybrey ‘10, Jiri Matousek ‘10, Ben McIntosh ’10, Julia Vu ’10, Nancy Wilk ’10 and Stacy Yoo ’11.

For more information, call 388-6004 or click here.