The primary thesis of “Computer Graphics: Effects of Origins” by Beverly Jones is simply stated as, “old cultural patterns do not die. They may fade or become more evident; that is, they may be deemphasized or emphasized” (Jones, 21). It is restated again on the first page of the article with a little more detail that, “New users bring additional assumptions and considerations of form, content, material, technique, meaning and purpose. However, some traces of the origins and practices remain in these forms, which consequently contribute to both cultural maintenance and change” (Jones, 21). She makes a really good point because everything we know in today’s world has ideas rooted in history. The food we eat now were most likely based on ideas from a blend of many different cultures food and fusions of these kinds of food were created making a kind of new food culture. There are examples like this everywhere you turn. Jones gives a few historical examples illustrating her thesis. The historical example that Jones uses are, “Graphics done by computer scientists, engineers, and technicians…In this, they entered the realm of visually simulating three-dimensional reality on a two-dimensional surface, the same problem that had occupied Roman artists practicing illusionism and Renaissance artists who revived visual perceptive” (Jones, 24). This illustrates the fact that “old patterns do not die” because computer scientists are using the same theories of plotting three-dimensional objects on a two-dimensional surface as the Romans and Renaissance artists did many years ago. It’s the same thing, but instead of being on paper or stone, it is on computer graphics.

Another illustration of Jones’s thesis is modern day movies. These can be compared to the very first plays performed by the Greeks. Instead of acting on stage, this same idea was transformed by using technology to acting on a set and filmed for people to view later. A PBS article states that, “According to tradition, in 534 or 535 BC, Thespis astounded audiences by leaping on to the back of a wooden cart and reciting poetry as if he was the characters whose lines he was reading. In doing so he became the world’s first actor” (The Origins of Theatre).

 

Alternate Source:

The Origins of Theatre – The First Actor. (n.d.). PBS. Retrieved August 10, 2014, from http://www.pbs.org/empires/thegreeks/bac

Art and technology have always been seen as two completely separate topics, but are they so different? Or have they actually been working together longer than we would think and could we be more successful if we combined them?

People have for a long time separated and compartmentalized different areas of study rather than recognizing how they all work together. The author states, “educational institutions remain rooted in origins and prior practices. Among these origins and practices are the separation of intellectual disciplines” (Jones, 22). The author then goes on to talk about how “although most institutionalized education remains inside disciplinary boundaries, the most innovative research in many disciplines has become transdisciplinary” (Jones, 22). Take for example biochemistry or neurochemistry. If you study just biology you gain some knowledge, but if you combine chemistry, you learn so much more about biology, and same with neurochemistry. Computer graphics is like this. You can create your own graphics which would be called art, but when you combine it with computer technology, you get amazing things that we have never seen before. Another form of technology as art are laser shows at concerts. People create beautiful light shows that compliment music at concerts and sometimes people choose to go to these shows more for the laser show than for the actual music.