Is digital art a viable art form?

What is art?


What is digital art work?


What is a viable art form?


Is digital art work, art?

Is digital art a viable art form?
yes.


yes.


yes.


no.





i need more moons guys.
Reply:What do you mean by "viable?"





Meaning can someone make a living at it?





Consider that almost EVERY piece of art to which most people have access is in digital format, then one would HAVE to answer "yes" to all of your points. Very few of us take the time, or have an opportunity to see "original" works of traditional art. Would you say that you have NEVER experienced the Mona Lisa, just because you have never seen it with your naked eyes? When you think of the Mona Lisa, does your mind draw a blank, or do you recall the face, the tiny grin, the hair and the dress?





Is the digital form you see "magically" transform a classic piece into something that is NOT art.





You must remember that virtually EVERY image you see in print, film, video, etc, is, at some point, a digital file. One cannot discount digital works as NON art, especially now, when many pieces are generated, distributed and displayed, entirely in digital form.





Here's an example from personal experience. If I created a very fine illustration for the cover of a children's book, might it not be considered a work of art? If the same image stood alone, on display on a wall, there would be no question that it is "art." The EXACT same piece could be INTENDED for hanging, OR for reproduction on a book cover. How does the INTENTION change the quality of the work?





If I started the illustration as a pencil sketch, on paper, and then scanned it into my computer for "inking" and coloring, does the act of scanning, somehow, "demote" the sketch from art to something less? How is it's potential as "art" change if I were to do the sketch on a digital graphics tablet and stylus, never even touching a piece of paper? Consider, also, that I have the option of "drawing" with vector based "bezier" tools, where the motions of drawing are not even mimicked. If the results turn out to be exactly the same, whether done on paper or computer, who would be able to justify the difference in description?





Is a photogapher an artist? Does his title change if he uses a digital camera?





Is a filmmaker an artist? Is it different if his tool is a digital camera?





Make the comparisons to a sculptor who uses a hammer and chisel to carve out a life size statue of a horse. Is he less of an artist if he uses a steam powered jack hammer to carve out a monumentally larger horse? Of course not. The jackhammer is, merely, another tool.





No different than my computer.