This May I will celebrate my second Mother's Day as a mother. Last year, my daughter was not even two months old when the holiday occurred, and I was too overwhelmed and overtired to realize that I had entered into a fellowship of other women for whom that day would never be the same again. This year is so different; my daughter was a precocious walker, speaks short sentences, loves to do the "baby dance" and has evolved from that wriggling little being of just a year ago, into the unique personality that is undeniably Abbey.
You're wondering what this has to do with art, right?
Well, I see digital art, very prominent here at EBSQ, moving from that stage of infancy into a stage where it is truly evolving into that next phase of toddlerhood, childhood, perhaps an awkward and gawky adolescence. Many critics (as well as many fellow artists) feel that digital artists somehow use "clever tricks" or employ a pre-set filter over a digital picture, or simply push a button and the computer "magically" makes "art." And for some, that may in fact be the case with the beginning digital artist, analogous perhaps to flirting with paint by numbers before truly learning to paint. But I feel it's tremendously important to remind artists, and art lovers alike, that the computer is simply another tool in the artist's kit, much like paint, clay, or conte crayon. No more, no less. The art does not, cannot create itself. It takes a lot of time and a hell of a lot of skill. The digital art is only as good as the artist who creates it. And let me tell you, our digital artists are VERY good.
This month, we'll see our first all-digital show, "Meet the Jetsons: A Digital Imagining of the Late 21st Century" where our digital artists explore their visions of the future. Digital Art is also our featured gallery this month, and will be further showcased for a full week of Art of the Day. We hope you'll take the time to explore this wonderful and extremely diverse media, as it moves beyond baby steps and starts to run.
It makes a mama proud.
Amie Gillingham, editor
1 May 2005
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