As a high school student, the last couple years of my life have been hyper-digitized. The pandemic pushed even my freshman year of learning to a digital platform. Like almost every teen I know, out of a combination of boredom and curiosity, I downloaded many apps that allow me to create my own version of digital art — from the photos I curate to post on Instagram to the short videos I make for TikTok. Digital art abounds in today’s world, whether it’s feats of photography, videography, music, dance, or comedy.
“As humans and machines become more enmeshed than ever, digital art once again asks us to consider what art can be and how it can be experienced,” says Patricia Daigle, associate curator of modern and contemporary art at the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art.
Digital art can be loosely defined as any art that uses technology as part of the creative or presentation process. Artificial intelligence (AI), augmented reality, and virtual reality have opened up many possibilities, allowing artists to create surreal, unique experiences and virtual worlds that transcend traditional boundaries.
The “Another Dimension: Digital Art in Memphis” exhibition at the Brooks provides a glimpse into the growing digital art scene in Memphis and features works by Kenneth Wayne Alexander II, Karl Erickson, Coe Lapossy, Sarai Payne, and Anthony Sims. “The exhibition includes works that are purely digital, a combination of the digital and physical, and work that is made digitally for a material existence,” Daigle says.
“They range from finely rendered animations to the decidedly low-tech or intentionally glitched. In this context, the digital is not only a tool but a space in which artists can create alternative physical and psychological environments or states of being.
“For this exhibition,” continues Daigle, “I wanted to feature [Memphis] artists who were working in digital mediums. There are several artists in our community engaging with digital art in different, interesting ways. Several of the artists in the exhibition — Kenneth Wayne Alexander II, Sarai Payne, and Anthony Sims — were born and raised in the Memphis area and had wonderful, influential art teachers in the public schools they attended.”
The works in the exhibit mark a shift away from traditional art forms and mix the traditional and the digital — the style and content of which reflect changes in society.
As part of the exhibition, viewers can peer through a “trapdoor” — a sewer cap on the floor — to watch a video of choreographed art. Another piece, King, features a skull wearing a crown and is a 16-panel digital collage inspired by Memphis street art. “I [thought I] should try and do something to recognize and commemorate the city that really helped me become an artist,” says King creator Anthony Sims.
“This city and the community mean a lot to me. The background in the artwork, I actually made it in 2019 when I was living in Memphis,” Sims says. “The character is kind of an ode to street artist Birdcap. And I usually like throwing an ode to Latin-American culture in my art. The blue squares I liked because that’s the color of Memphis: blues [music], Grizzlies is blue, the University of Memphis is blue — that’s Memphis. I titled the piece King because of the crown, which was inspired by an Inca crown.”
With a boom in everything digital, artists can release their artistic skills through many mediums. There are creative tools from open-source programming to apps that artists can use to hone their skills digitally.
“I started as a physical artist, that is my realm,” Sims says. “I am a physical painter. Just because you are passionate about something doesn’t mean that you need to put yourself in a box and stay in that box. Once I started making digital art, everything in my life changed. I made the most money and [was] met with the most media success through digital art. Never limit yourself as an artist. Don’t be scared of new technologies.”
“Another Dimension: Digital Art in Memphis” runs through September 11th at the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art. Visit brooksmuseum.org for more info.
