How do you feel about technology integration in the art room?

Technology (digital media) is now a major form of art in today’s world. I feel it is important to teach students different ways it can be used and used well.

Lev Manovich wrote in his book, Cultural Data: Possibilities and Limitations of the Digital Data Universe, how digital media is it’s own culture and is not always a reflection of the physical culture world. With that principle in mind, I would say the same can be said about digital art vs traditional or classical forms of art-making.

SVA MAT students creating a simple stop motion animation using the phone app Stop Motion.

Growing up I learned all the forms of classical art i.e. drawing, painting, sculpting, darkroom photography, sewing and jewelry making, in school & after school programs. I was only introduced to Photoshop at Fiorello LaGuardia Highschool in my senior year.

It was in college at the Maryland Institute College of Art where I was immersed in new technology art. But understanding the fundamental principles of classical art forms, learning digital art and technology, was not scary or hard. I was able to combine the two as well as going back and forth between them.

In my first experience of teaching digital mixed media (digital painting) with students in a summer program, I found that most of the students had a good grasp of computers and were self-taught artists using social media. They were less versed in physical or traditional art forms and shied away from them, choosing to focus on their digital art. But, because of their preference, they see digital media as a “high art form” knowing its possibilities but not its limitations.

For my future lesson planning with students, I’ve learned that it helps to go from traditional to digital, as digital art is created in response to traditional forms of art.

The Stop Motion exercise we did (see above) was a good way for students to see the fusion of the two. Both collage & video partners in this artform.