Page 71 - 第19屆大墩美展專輯電子書

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Juror's Statement, D igital rt Category CHEN Jun-Hong

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There were 32 entries for the digital art category of the 19 Da Dun Fine Arts Exhibition of Taichung City (graphic design: 18 entries; video &
audio: four entries; animation: seven entries; interactive installation: three entries). The preliminary review was held on May 18 and the evaluation

committee was composed of five judges: CHANG Po-Chou, WANG Ding-Ming, YAO Tsun-Hsiung, WALIS Labai, and myself. Seven entries (graphic

design: one entry; video & audio: two entries; animation: three entries; interactive installation: one entry) were short-listed for final evaluation.
The seven short-listed entries were submitted between June 20 and 22 and underwent final review on June 24. Due to the small number of

entries and lack of unique works, the committee reached the conclusion that none qualified for First Prize. Critiques on the rest of the awarded entries
are as follows.
The Second Prize winning piece, "Color Man" by WANG Zhen-Chun, is a 2D animation which uses color to illustrate the binary facets of
rationality and the multiple facets of sentiment. The story depicts an expressionless binary world in which the main character is forced to wear a large
hat to conceal his "abnormality". One day he finally loses his mind and accidently discovers that new colors appear when blood is mixed with nature.

After he is exposed to the colors, he understands the past and experiences emotion. The artist used simple characters and brushstrokes to present an
interesting and artistic piece with a nice rhythm.
Third Prize goes to "The Path of Water" by LIN Chia-Horng. This is a dynamic video loaded with metaphors. It depicts the obstacles that water
runs into, and how the water continues on with its journey. In the latter part of the work, the artist added images of a dancer dancing, symbolizing the
interaction between water and life. This piece presents various images, and offers good rhythm and visual effects.

The Award of Merit goes to "Sinking 2", a dynamic video by ZHU Shan-Xiu. The images transform as if in a science-fiction movie, presenting
the conflict, choice, restlessness and defeat of contemplation. The scenes are very dramatic and show strong visual tension. The only defect is the

sound effects, which do not really match with the visuals.
The other entry that received an Award of Merit is the animated "The Formula of Modern Life" by HUANG Mao-Fu. The story looks into
the lives of modern people and our behavior patterns. The animation transforms the modern environment into a world under the sea, and people are
"sinking" in it. Is it because we are used to it? Or indifferent to it? Or helpless to do anything about it? This work points out many issues for us to
think about.

There were not many entries for this year's digital art category and over half of them were computer graphics. Most of them seemed like practice
works and some may even have been assignments for classes. They lack the innovation, technical elements and new visual vocabulary and aesthetics
that are part of "digital art", which is a great pity.
Digital art can be presented in many ways. It can be two-dimensional or three-dimensional, static, dynamic, or even interactive. The main point
is to leverage modern technology and exercise the traits and techniques of different tools to present an artistic vocabulary that cannot be generated
through other media. I take this opportunity to invite all artists in digital and technology art areas to participate in future exhibitions, and offer more
creative and diverse works to the Da Dun Fine Arts Exhibition.

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