Technology Essay
The thesis of the reading assignment for this week “Computer Graphics: Effects of Origins” by Beverley Jones is the discussion of the effects of the combination of the computer and art, which when put together creates computer graphics as an art form. She also focuses her essay on how much technology has changed over the years and what sorts of advances in the technological department that we have made. She states that although we have been moving forward with technology, all the new technology that we do have is influenced by and based off of the old stuff. We are making progress with technology by using the knowledge that we have from previous models and equipment.
Jones gives some examples of combing technology and art in her essay when she discusses “the Second West Coast computer Faire held in 1978” (Jones 23). One example she gave was about using “small computer systems…be used by individuals to create unique furniture, fabrics and prints suited to their special requirements” (Jones 23). This creation was the beginning of customized merchandise. By creating this, consumers are able to now decide exactly what it is that they want to put on their merchandise. They no longer have to buy something that they know all other people in the world have access to purchasing. People are able to pick out any pattern, picture, or phrase and have it printed on whatever they want.
An example of combing art and technology in our world today is the use of Facebook. Many users today put a lot of time and effort into creating a social media account that has the perfect amount of edited pictures and whitey phrases on it. This is also connected with the heavy use of photoshop in our society. Lots of people cannot just take a photo and be content with it anymore, they have to go through the many steps on photoshop in order to create a photo that often does not even resemble what the original image looked like. By doing this many people give off the idea that they are something that they are really not. Social media with the combination of photoshop often ends up leading to people creating the most perfect looking image of themselves.
Sources
Jones, B. J. (1990). Computer Graphics: Effects of Origins. Leonardo: Digital Image- Digital Cinema Supplemental Issue, pp. 21-30.