I have been struggling for some time with issues of the medium, and what I am trying to get out of it. Constructing pretty, complex images is unsatisfying in and of itself. I have wished to use the technology to approach myself in some way, to take the beginning steps at becoming aware of the fact that the computer, the digital imaging software, and the scanner, are all just the latest in a long line of tools that can be used for self-knowledge. The core of these particular images are scans of my own body, face, and hands, kept at the original size (except for where my hands are used as pointers). I have tried to minimize the incorporation of found imagery into these works, as it is too easy a crutch to lean upon.
"Continuity" was made from a continuous scan of my hands, taking advantage of the time that it took for the scanner head to pass from one side to the other so as to move my hands in a continual, clasping chain. Every few moments, the scanner would make a Òthinking pauseÓ to write the image to memory, inevitably creating a split in the image due to slight body shifting once it resumed its scan. I decided to add pixellation to these divisions rather than eliminate them, as I have been questioning how transparent I want the technology to be. In a sense, by taking great pains to hide the means of image formation, you are making it more important than if you let it stand out. The pixellation is a easily identifiable shorthand way for the technology to honestly refer to itself and its limitations, being uniquely associated with computer imaging. A somewhat choppy patchwork is then created rather than a seamless perfect image, a time exposure of self-grasping, a personal extension only possible through technology.
This image was first shown at the OSU Art & Technology 1999 Autumn Quarter show in the Silver Image Gallery, OSU.
It was later included in "Digital Art in the New Millennium," Jan. 25th-Feb. 25th 2000,
Ft. Hayes Shot Tower Gallery,
546 Jack Gibbs Blvd., Columbus, OH.
In Love And Reason I Trust
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