A virtual actress with emotions

I once went to film school but it didn't take, so as an artist I have had to rely on still art ever since (mostly). And digital art remains almost entirely still art, as a review of the MOCA site will reveal. But maybe that's changing. Here's a piece of movie art that makes me almost wish that I had stayed with my original inspiration. You can read what Jean Lafleur, the producer, says about Kyra and see the movie here:

Kyra, a digital movie

Origins

If you're interested in a little of iDon's personal history (no reason why you should be) and in the origins of the Museum of Computer Art, here are excerpts from an online interview with iDon published in June, 2000.

by Maria Teresa De Donato
Editor-in-chief, digital art section, CESIA
an organization for study and research in the fine arts
Florence, Italy

Don, could you introduce yourself?

I got my BS in Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, did graduate study in English education at New York University, studied computer programming at Brooklyn College in New York, and took a diploma in massage therapy from the Swedish Institute in New York City. For some years I taught English in the New York City high schools, worked part-time as a massage therapist, and operated a retail/manufacturing business. In 1993 I joined the computer revolution and started drawing fractal art. There was no looking back. Since 1994 I exhibited print art in several one-man and group shows in New York City. One of my works was purchased and included in the collection of the Ball State University Art Museum, Muncie, Indiana. I am an innovator of U-draw fractal art on the web where web viewers contribute input and collaborate in the fractal-drawing process.

As an artist what is your main sources of inspiration?

I am inspired by the Renaissance and Impressionist masters as well as by the larger-than-life figures of modern art, including Cézanne, Picasso, and the later Americans who comprised the New York School, like de Kooning and Jackson Pollock. I am especially attracted also to those artists who have particularly wrestled with the idea of form, like Mondrian.

Who had the idea about "MOCA: Museum of Computer Art" and how did you get started?

It was 1993. I was drawing fractals for several months as a member of CompuServe's computer art forum. Fractint, a comprehensive fractal drawing program, had been developed by a loose-knit group of programmers called the Stone Soup Group working on CompuServe. The forum supported the program and encouraged the exchange of fractal ideas and images. It was also home to POV-Ray, a ray-trace (3d rendering) program that generated photo-realistic images. But it was as if the CompuServe artists were talking to themselves and showing their work only amongst themselves. Considering the talent and the amazing new art being produced, CompuServe seemed a restrictive outlet. I conceived the idea of some sort of platform to promote the new art and bring it to a wide audience. I had met Bob Dodson on CompuServe. He was both a fractal and ray-trace artist based in Oregon (I was in Brooklyn NY). We seemed to have common ideas about computer art.

The idea of a museum seemed appropriate, even if ours was entirely virtual. So MOCA: Museum of Computer Art was founded by decree, to the attention of practically no one. The acronym MOCA caused an eyebrow to be raised here and there because it was already bespoken, but no legal issue was raised. I was director; Bob was curator. We started to assemble images (mostly of CompuServe artists), and within a few weeks we had our first exhibit. The Web was not yet a force. Our exhibit consisted of a pack of five floppy disks distributed by US mail. It had very few takers. But it was a beginning. (Bob later dropped out to pursue personal interests.)

What criteria do you follow to allow an artist to exhibit on your on-line museum?

Talent and quality of art are the criteria. We look for seriousness of intent, for some sort of creative track record, possibly a history of work shown on or off the Web, for familiarity with and expertise in the computer art tools being employed. But the art's the thing. If the art is not there, technical prowess alone, in our eyes, will not redeem it. We are artists ourselves, we have a long experience of looking at computer art and traditional art, and we unabashedly say we know what we like when we see it. We are looking for art that is new, fresh, vital, and vigorous. Having said that, we acknowledge forthrightly that our decisions are entirely subjective and fraught with the potential for mistake.

What are the most important points in a digital art work to make it look good?

Looking good is probably not a good criteria. Better criteria are charm, wit, humor, emotion, strength of composition, drawing skill, a feel for color. Mostly, I would tell artists, "Make it new!"

What will be your future plans as artists as well as director and co-founder at MOCA?

I would like to see MOCA remain as a non-profit organization sans advertising. It cries out for a professional staff, voluntary or paid. It needs curators, critics, programmers. It needs funding. It awaits public or private support. There is almost nothing on the web quite like it, no site that sweeps its net so comprehensively and authoritatively over computer art. Its work, size and prestige will continue to grow, so far as I can help it.

Thank you.

A special thanks to Don Archer for his kind cooperation.

12100 Austin, TX 78758 (USA)
© 2000 All Rights Reserved

For some early pics of iDon's family, go to Personal history.

ARCHIVES
First edition (Apr. 9, 2008)

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