Computer art: Jefferson County collection combines computers and art

May 09, 2009 10:32 am

— FAIRFIELD — At first there just seems to be something wrong with using computers to design a piece of art.
People generally see art and science as being almost as firmly separated as government and religion. Sitting down before a computer screen to create might be fine for Bill Gates, but it’s hard to see Picasso liking the idea.
Then you see the finished pieces, on display until early June at the ICON Gallery in Fairfield, and it’s clear why a handful of University of Iowa artists are using the computers. The seemingly impossible shapes and amazingly intricate miniatures can’t be made by hand.
In some cases the materials are too fragile. There’s no way the raw material for printed vases and lamps could be molded by a person without disintegrating. It’s hard enough to get them into a connective polymer without having them fall apart.
The miniatures are another matter. They usually represent a trial version of what the artist hopes will be a much larger final product. The artists could make them, but the time involved would preclude working on the end design. Computers help them reach the intermediate step while still having the ability to adjust for the finished product.
Besides, says Professor Monica Correia, bringing technology into the studio forces students to think differently.
Correia teaches in the university’s 3-D Design program, the division within the school that tries to merge technology and art. She finds that undergraduate students have an easier time. They grew up around computers. It’s the grad students who have a hard time putting away the sketchbook.
Jared Williams, one of those grad students, didn’t even start out as an artist. He says he was “always artistic” growing up. Williams enjoyed woodworking but also gained enough exposure to computers to know his way around a program.
Neither of those played into his first career. He eventually realized he was far better at art than at pharmaceutical sales. So he came back to school.
Williams’ woodworking past explains the one of the more striking pieces on display. He used what amounts to a robotic router to make a series of wood rings, which he then cut and refit into intricate designs.
The process was “almost like making puzzle pieces,” Williams said.
Other pieces in the display were literally printed. Most people are familiar with the printers at home or in the office. But few think about the implication of how they work. Printers lay down a fine layer of ink onto a sheet of paper. There’s absolutely no reason a slightly different design can’t do the same with other materials.
The design program’s printer uses fragile, almost sandy materials. It lays them down according to the computer’s instructions in a very slow process. One piece on display stands about 15 inches tall. It took nine hours to print.
Printing isn’t the final step. The pieces are too fragile. They need to be stabilized before being put on display. The resulting pieces are remarkable for their form and obvious delicacy.
Correia used that process to make a vase that’s near the front of the show. The technique first showed up about five years ago. Adding color to the products came later.
The leaps in technology still startle her in some ways. Her first use of computers to help shape her art came more than a decade ago. That version of AutoCad ran on DOS, the computer language Windows largely supplanted for casual users.
Correia says the Fairfield show has another feature not visible at first glance. Most of the materials are recycled or reclaimed.
“The work is very diverse. What we’re trying to do in the program is work as much as we can with technology with an emphasis on sustainable materials,” she said.
Gallery owner Bill Teeple knows not everyone will see a point in the pieces on display or even think all of them are art. There’s always an element of risk for new art techniques, even for those who display them.
Teeple responds to questions with a grin.
“I get away with as much as I can in a small town,” he said.
Matt Milner can be reached at (641) 683-5359 or via e-mail at mwmilner@mchsi.com

Breakout box

The R+D Collection will remain on display at the ICON Gallery at 58 N. Main St. in Fairfield through June 5. Hours are from 12-4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, or by appointment.

Photos

The view from inside one of the artworks on display at the ICON Gallery gives a unique look as Jared Williams and Prof. Monica Correia explain the goals of the University of Iowa's 3-D design program. The show runs until the beginning of June in Fairfield.