"Crafting" Computer Graphics—A Convergence of Traditional and "New" Media

This paper explores how the digital imaging revolution established one of the most recent "new" media fields in art and design and ultimately permeated related sectors with beguiling two-dimensional (2D), three-dimensional (3D), and interactive visual and experiential prospects. After much frenzied development and hype during the mid to late 1990s, it would seem that digital tooling has reached its market peak, and may now have reached a plateau. The speed of this revolution was manifest in our perception of the computer's potential and evolving capability as well as its actual development in both technical and commercial terms.

The current climate proffers time for review of this revolution. Before the kids on the next "new" media block appear, such as those that may evolve through the bio- and genetic engineering industries. The presence of the computer in its variable form has changed art and design education, superseding skills, processes, and thinking that are currently proving interesting informants in the development of digital languages that function beyond the boundaries of established software (SW) use. Some of the most challenging "digitally" made, developed, produced, or presented works have come via languages of fundamental material origin, e. g., textiles, metal, painting, sculpture, architecture, broadening the perceived parameters of "digital use."

It is arguable that "makers" who work with knowledge of traditional media are perhaps more wary and questioning of the potential of digital media, than users beguiled by gimmickry. In this context the notion of "crafting" emerges as Press and Cusworth (1996: 18) imply: The craft method has found a new relevance. As a means of obtaining knowledge about materials and processes, discovering how to find the quality within any matter, craft finds us diamonds in the landfill. The application of such practice to digital media is relatively rare in comparison to use of computer tooling within the commercial sectors.

As the education of traditional material skills are currently in demise, this would seem an appropriate time to revaluate such knowledge in the context of digital tooling. In this respect, the author's work provides a focus for this article, as material knowledge has enabled navigation through a myriad of digital SW and hardware products during their much hyped evolution, leading to her current practice using predominantly 3D computer graphic animation tools.

In the special issue Digital Dialogues 2: Textiles and Technology.

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