Cette thèse est une méditation sur l’art numérique et la perception, qui espère offrir un regard approfondi sur ces sujets. L’évolution technologique, comme le feu de Prométhée, apporte la lumière, et change le mode de vie humain, mais aussi les critères de l’art, en plus de nous introduire dans un monde inimaginable d’hyper-sensations. Science et technologie se déploient dans tous les domaines de la vie, le développement de l’interaction homme-machine nous inonde de dispositifs numériques et multimédia au quotidien, et nous rend familiers des mondes virtuels. Cette recherche explore les interactions entre l’art numérique et ses environnements de création et d’exposition.Deux études de terrain sont ici mises en relation : Le Festival d’Art Numérique de Taipei et Mons 2015, et soulignent un rapport art-science-société comme problématique. D’un point de vue sociologique, l’art numérique représente un microcosme de la société virtuelle et un macrocosme du monde réel, par la création d’une communauté virtuelle invisible.La science technologique incarne l’esprit humain et l’espace-temps, car la relation entre l’homme et la technologie marque la société contemporaine, où le scientifique et l’artiste peuvent créer des mondes imaginaires tout en traversant les oppositions dichotomiques entre la réalité et la virtualité. Ce travail de thèse permet ainsi d’explorer des entrecroisement entre le spectateur et l’œuvre, entre les mondes intelligible et sensible, réel et virtuel, visible et invisible. / This research is a meditation between digital art and perception of real-life, which hopes to offer a comprehensive look on these issues. Technology developments, such as the fire of Prometheus, not only bring the lights and changes in nature’s way into our daily life, but also the Principles and criteria of art. In addition, the new media bring us into unimaginable and hyper-sensations world. Science and technology are deployed and infiltrated in all area, the development of man-machine interaction flooded with digital devices and media every day, and make us rely on virtual worlds unconsciously. This research explores the interactions between digital art, digital art creation and exhibition environments.Two case studies are made here is related to: The Taipei Digital Art Festival and Mons 2015, and highlight a report art-science-society as problematic definition. From sociological point of view, digital art represents a microcosm of the virtual society and a macrocosm of the real world, by creating an invisible virtual community.Technological science embodies the human spirit and the space-time, because the relationship between man and technology marks contemporary society, where the scientist and the artist can create imaginary worlds while crossing dichotomous oppositions between reality and virtuality. This work allows us to explore the intersection between the viewer and the work, between intelligible and sensible worlds, real and virtual, visible and invisible.

Interactive digital art installations are fundamentally enabled by hardware and software. Through a combination of these elements an interactive experience is con- structed. The first half of this thesis discusses the technical complexity associated with design and implementation of digital interactive installation. A system, dreamIO, is proposed for mediating this complexity through providing wireless building blocks for creating interactive installations. The technical details–both hardware and software– of this system are outlined. Measurements of the system are presented followed by analysis and discussion of the real world impact of this data. Finally, a discussion of future improvements is presented. The second half of this thesis examines an example interactive installation, Trans- code, which uses the proposed system as the building block for the piece. The piece is presented as evidence for the value of the proposed system and as a work of art in it’s own right. The use of the dreamIO system is detailed followed by a discussion of the interactivity and aesthetic form of the work. The purposes of these specific design choices are then presented. Finally, the work is analyzed through a combination of Relational Aesthetics and Cybernetics. / Graduate

I den här studien undersöks huruvida den tekniskt obsoleta konstformen pixelgrafik, eller ”pixel art” fortfarande är ett relevant medium och vilka kvaliteter som gör det till ett självständigt praktiskt hantverk. I en kvalitativ studie intervjuas fyra erfarna pixel konstnärer om deras definitioner av ”pixel art” samt deras egen praktik. Dessa analyseras sedan med hjälp av befintliga teorier inom design och praktisk kunskap. Studien finner att en anledning till att pixelgrafik fortsatt att vara relevant beror på begräsningarna som har sin bakgrund i tekniska restriktioner i gammal hårdvara ger upphov till kreativitet. Det simpla fyrkantsmönstret som pixelgrafik bygger på är lätt för nybörjare att ta till sig och stimulerar kreativ problemlösning. Begränsningarna tvingar konstnären att kompromissa vad gäller val av färg och form. Pixel art har mer gemensamt med gamla tekniker som korsstygn eller mosaikläggning än andra typer av samtida digital konst. Själva utförandet beskrivs av respondenterna som meditativt och jämförbart med att lägga ett pussel eller att spela Tetris. Trots att det är ett medium som ofta är förknippat med nostalgi och en ”retro-estetik” så är det fortfarande en konstform som utvecklas och som fortsatt att vara populär. / This study seeks to answer what makes the technically obsolete medium of pixel art still relevant and what qualities make it into an independent craft. In a qualitative study four highly experienced pixel artists are interviewed about their own definitions of pixel art and their methodology. The answers are then analyzed through the lenses of existing theories on design and practical knowledge. The study concludes that a reason why pixel art has remained relevant is that the limitations that had their origins in the technical restrictions of early computer hardware gives way to creativity. The simple pixel-grid is easy for beginners to get a grip on and stimulates creative problem-solving, forcing the artist to compromise in regard to the choice of colors and shapes. In that regard it begs comparisons to cross-stitching and mosaics rather than most contemporary digital art. The immediacy of managing these restrictions was described as meditative and can be compared to solving a puzzle or a game of Tetris. Despite its reputation for being a backwards-gazing medium linked with retro videogames the artists insist the artform is still being evolved and elevated today.

Information kring mobbing och utanförskap är viktig men kan ofta upplevas som torr och ointressant. Detta kandidatarbete utforskar fantasyillustrationer som ett sätt att hantera svårare ämnen genom berättande och underhållning. Jag har forskat kring berättande och fantasygenren som verktyg för att kunna diskutera svårare ämnen på ett mindre konfronterande och mer lättmottagligt sätt samt hur illustration kan användas som ett medium för att berätta. Detta har lett till min gestaltning, en fantasyberättelse om mobbning och utanförskap vid namn ”Himlen, Havet och Riddaren”. Jag har samarbetat med Lotusmodellen och deras Trygga Klassen arbete för att utveckla en berättelse och sedan genom en process av konceptarbete utvecklat karaktärer och en visuell värld av unga riddare på en ö i ett grönt hav. Jag har använt mig av storyboarding och ett flertal illustreringsbaserade berättarmetoder som färgmening och komposition för att skapa en berättelse som är tydlig trots att den saknar text eller berättare. Jag har testat och använt digitala illustrationsmetoder för att arbeta effektivt och hinna med ett stort arbete under kort tid. Resultatet är en video bestående av 36 illustrationer som tillsammans bildar en berättelse som visualiserar mobbing och utanförskap med ett positivt budskap och en stämning som förstärks med timing, ljudeffekter och musik. / Information about bullying and exclusion is important but can often be perceived as dry and uninteresting. This bachelor thesis explores fantasy illustrations as a way to deal with more difficult topics through storytelling and entertainment. I have researched storytelling and the fantasygenre as a tool for discussing more difficult topics in a less confrontational and more receptive way as well as how illustration can be used as a medium for storytelling. This has led to my design, a fantasy story about bullying and exclusion called “Himlen, Havet och Riddaren”. I have collaborated with Lotusmodellen and their Trygga Klassen work to develop a story and then through a process of concept art developed characters and a visual world of young knights on an island in a green sea. I have used storyboarding and a number of illustration-based storytelling methods such as colour meaning and composition to create a story that is clear even though it lacks text or narrator. I have tested and used digital illustration methods to work efficiently and get a great deal of work done in a short time. The result is a video consisting of 36 illustrations that together form a story that visualizes bullying and exclusion with a positive message and a mood that is enhanced with timing, sound effects and music.

Fraudulent behaviour within the art sector has been around since the Roman empire. The difficulty of proving provenance and authenticity has led to various art scandals around the world. The use of NFTs with their underlying blockchain technology has been described as a solution to these problems when applied to artworks. The recent public interest for NFT- applied to digital art and its perceived functionality is the motivation to investigate the usage of NFT digital art. Therefore, this study discusses the potential advantages and disadvantages of NFT-applied digital art. The results are based on (i) a literature analysis of previously identified advantages and disadvantages, (ii) the use of Practice Theory to investigate underlying motives to engage in the practice and (iii) an empirical review of nine respondents involved with NFTs applied to digital art. Potential advantages a majority of the respondents supported were the following: The advantage of royalty sharing, versatile utilization, provenance and exposure to larger markets. Potential disadvantages a majority of the respondents supported were the following: The disadvantage of the false belief of provenance, fraudulent behaviour, environmental aspects, legal aspects and that NFTs are currently not blockchain agnostic. The underlying motives the respondents expressed were financially driven and curiosity about the technology. The contribution of this paper will be useful for potential NFT-stakeholders to assess whether it is worth engaging in the area based on its current potential advantages and disadvantages. Furthermore, by highlighting the technology’s potential disadvantages, the paper also describes potential improvement factors which the NFT-community would benefit from resolving.

Documentation is usually regarded as an art project’s remain or trace that is created and used in different ways. In performance and digital art, documentation has become the focus of conservation and presentation strategies; however, there is a lack of standardized methods on how to make effective use of the different types of documentation. Using case studies from their own collections/practices, LIMA in Amsterdam, in collaboration with Tate and various artists / initiatives, in June 2020 organized a series of workshops to identify a typological framework of documentation. Specific attention was paid to performative installations, performance art in the museum, networked and research-based art projects.

In this master thesis I examinate the experience of space, place and genius loci in the application Acute Art X and the virtual reality art works at the platform, using a phenomenological method. Six artworks were on display while the thesis was authored. All the displayed artworks were analysed because of their variation of theme, topic, and experience. The applied method uses the body and the perception as tools to reach the phenomenon of the space, place and genius loci in the virtual reality artworks presented in the application. The applied theories are theory of space, theory of place and genius loci – the spirit of place. Space being the surrounding area where life takes place, it is produces by man or by nature. Space is there for more of an architectural character, while place is defined by particularity of its inherent meaning. The production of space in the virtual reality art works be a representation of physical space, produced to mediate an artistic content.  The virtual reality spaces of art are based on the model of all-encompassing frescoes dated 2000 years back, where entire spaces and rooms were covered by illusional art works. The immersive experience of being inside of the artwork has reached its next development with the technique of virtual reality. The enclosed experience of being inside of an artwork is examined in this thesis, along with the outcomes of the artworks forming of an artistic virtual reality world. Main questions: What is the experience of the application Acute Art X, as a space and place for art, as an exhibition space? What is the experience of space, place, and the function of the place in the virtual reality artworks displayed in the application? What is the experience of the physical body´s functions in the virtual reality worlds of the art works? How are the conditions between the intentions of the virtual reality artworks and the genius loci of the virtual place? The conclusions are made from the discussion about the phenomenology method, which puts the position of the physical body in a new experience based on the perception’s location inside the virtual reality artworks, and of the experience of space, place, and the spirit of the places – genius loci – in the virtual reality artworks. The artworks are the places, not made at an already existing place, and the artworks inherited meaning are the same as the genius loci of the virtual reality worlds of art.

Ideals, aesthetics, forms, and concepts have resurfaced in various cultures throughout time. I am interested in the idea of the recurring themes that exist in the collective unconscious. I create monolithic figures that exhibit these archetypal qualities. Heavily influenced by film, animation, video games, and contemporary art, I create figures and paintings that are manifestations of my subconscious. These manifestations personify utopian ideals, the immortalization of youth, and the innocence of childhood.

Digital painting is the field of software designed to provide artists a virtual medium to emulate the experience and results of physical drawing. Several hardware and software components come together to form a whole workflow, ranging from the physical input devices, to the stroking process, to the texture content authorship. This thesis explores an artist-friendly approach to synthesize the textures that give life to digital brush strokes. Most painting software provides a limited library of predefined brush textures. They aim to offer styles approximating physical media like paintbrushes, pencils, markers, and airbrushes. Often these are static bitmap textures that are stamped onto the canvas at repeating intervals, causing discernible repetition artifacts. When more variety is desired, artists often download commercially available brush packs that expand the library of styles. However, included and supplemental brush packs are not easily artist-customizable. In recent years, a separate field of digital art tooling has seen the popular growth of node-based procedural content generation. 3D models, shaders, and materials are commonly authored by artists using functions that can be linked together in a visual programming environment called a node graph. In this work, the feasibility is tested of using a node graph to procedurally generate highly customizable brush textures. The system synthesizes textures that adapt to parameters like pen pressure and stretch along the full length of each brush stroke instead of stamping repetitively. The result is a more flexible and artist-friendly way to define, share, and tweak brush textures used in digital painting.

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