Patricia Galvis-Assmus: La Monalisa Chibcha
Artist(s):
Title:
- La Monalisa Chibcha
Exhibition:
Creation Year:
- 1996
Category:
Artist Statement:
What is computer art? Numerical concept or physical reality? Is a print of any kind the “piece”? Does the output media matter? If “art” is the image created, is it not then housed in the storage media? What is more valuable then, the disk or the print?
These are the questions that are addressed through La Monalisa Chibcha. The image is a melding of pre-Columbian icons, da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, and a child. Although this particular combination is based on the nickname my father has given my young daughter, the title represents many things. Mostly, I see the connection of the pre-Columbian icon to a present-day Colombian child: the history and culture that we should pass on to our children. The use of da Vinci’s Mona Lisa speaks to the incalculable number of regulations of that world-famous portrait. The actual merit of the work has been belittled by overexposure. It has become a cliche. This brings me to the issue explored in La Monalisa Chibcha. In a way, the actual image is irrelevant for the asking of the questions.
By creating a digital image, I am using and taking advantage of the many effects and possibilities in image manipulation. My creative decisions are based partly on aesthetic considerations and partly on technical limitations. So far, this does not differ so much from other media. When we are done, “finished”, we then face a dilemma. As digital imaging evolves, we need to investigate and resolve what and how we exhibit. The questions start again. Should we paper the world with duplicates of our creations, allowing the finished work to be controlled in its final “look” by technical and financial limitations? Or do we maintain integrity and create for pure enjoyment, curiosity and ART?
We are losing the elusive quality that tints our human memory when we are visually bombarded by the proliferation of available material.
