Scanner ArtAs an art form 'Scanner Art' is not as easy at it may first appear. Just scanning something on the flatbed glass does not make it "art". Photo scanner artists take hours to create their masterpieces. The search for creative subjects, the placement, juggling, retakes and the clean-up can seemingly take forever. Then comes the digital darkroom. Remove the spots, brighten the colors, change the colors, sharpen the image. The scanography art you see on web sites is not the original scan. There have been numerous "tweaks" along the way.
When Ray Kurzweil invented the flatbed scanner in 1975, how could he possibly know a new art form would stem from his creation? What is art? That is an age old question, but add to that: What is photography? What is scanner art? These questions are being discussed and even argued at great length on the internet. It has become a real controversy. Go here to read more about the
Scanner Photography argument.
A Few of My Favorite ScanographersKatinka Matson refers to her art as a "non-photographic technique". Whatever she chooses to call it, her images are fine art. "It is a radically new digital aesthetic involving both new hardware (the scanner and the inkjet printer), and software (Adobe Photoshop), that allows for a new naturalism fusing nature and technology." -
Katinka Matson
Andrea Kemler's 'Pink Dogwoods' remind me of spring, my Dad and growing up in Maryland. Her scanner art site is uniquely designed. "I began creating these images at a time in my life in which the symbolism of flora as a metaphor for the fleeting nature of human life had tremendous resonance for me." -
Andrea Kemler
For me, Doris Mitsch's art work answers the question 'is scanography really art'? Her simplicity reaches out to my minimalist tendencies. "I’m especially interested in the visual rhyming relationships between natural forms . . ." -
Doris Mitsch
Carol Rollick's site and images are very creative. I especially like the 'Cyclamen'. Use the Slide Show version in full page for best results. "... I paint with the artist's newest tool, the computer." -
Carol Rollick
I introduced Vinc's how-to-scan page earlier. Although primarily a "photographer" I include Vinc here because his work is professional and his scanner art is informative as well as exquisite! On his home page go to the 'Food' section for his Scanner Magic. Vincent de Groot I also mentioned Patri's how-to generosity previously, but you may have missed her art (available in greeting card to poster size). One of my favorite scans is her 'Five White Gourds'. "Classical imagery from nature captured without the use of traditional artists or photographers materials..." -
Patri Feher's Black Rose Gallery
Leave Scanner Art and return to Scanner Magic Home Page
|
