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Juror’s Statement, Digital Art Category LU Ching-Fu

Digital art is a newly emerging media art focusing on a variety of subjects. With the exception of the Da Dun Fine Arts Exhibition of Taichung City, Huang

Shi Art Exhibition, and Kaohsiung Awards, few Taiwanese fine arts exhibitions include a Digital Arts category.

Although once labeled as“graphic digital arts”at the Huang Shi Art Exhibition, organizers properly removed the word“graphic”his year; nevertheless,
t

there were no suitable prize-winners. Kaohsiung Awards organizers classified it as“New Media”incorporating art designs in a decision that seemed odd (already

responded to the Director). The Digital Art Awards and K.T. Creativity Award are meant for digital artists. The former, collecting all categories of digital art, was
won this year by my student as well as a dentist, while the terminology used for the latter remains in question because in Chinese “tech arts” mostly refers to
analog or machinery arts. However, the English name has broader meanings. Currently, this award is the only Taiwan student competition that covers Animation,
Interactive, and Game (especially apps) categories.
By contrast, the Japan Media Arts Festival has four categories. Its Game category largely focuses on arcade game, video and computer games, and the other
three categories are Animation, Comics, and Media Art. Comics are a Japanese cultural feature so this category was specially created. Media art is comprehensive
with the Interactive category being another eye-catching facet, as I experienced while playing with a creation that featured my on-screen image with a variety of
added elements.
This February, the Animation category prize went to French artist Boris Labbé who, by coincidence, recently won the animation award at Prix Ars
Electronica, as he used a satellite map-like macro angle to create animation. The animation was purely artistic and unrelated to social issues, although in Taiwan
social issues are a big concern in every arts category.
The Digital Art category's fi rst-prize winner at the Da Dun Fine Arts Exhibition is no exception, as TAI Chi-Hsien's “Dystopia”“symbolizes a monster of

industrial armies”and incorporates it“in a surreal metaphorical scene”. The artist uses a kaleidoscope-like collage to present a factory chimney while the color is

elegant and the movement is relaxed. However, I suggest the artist bring out more surreal scenes in the repeated black ident bumper. Partial scenes from“Dystopia”
also appear in the artist's other work, “Imagery Voyage”, which is of similar high quality. The hand-drawn scenes are likely to win a juror's appreciation and
enhance the chances of claiming a Da Dun Prize.

The second-prize winner, CHU Shan-Hsiu's“Sinking Ⅲ ”, attempts to depict various conflicts with an unbiased attitude, as“the viewers should utilize

imagination … into a viewer-centered interpretation”that allows the artist to focus on creation. The work starts on an imposing note with a nice arrangement of
spaces, but the ending seems powerless. YANG Yu-Chieh's“Operation & Transformation”, earning third prize, showcases the rhythm of escalators. Instead of a

plain narration, an interesting collage is adopted. Probably because of its simple scene arrangement, this work won the shared appreciation of a number of jurors.

More surreal work is represented by LU Hsuan-Ying's“Portrait Series”whose background music adopts“meaningless language”that is easier for“viewers
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to freely intercept and define”However, the work is a little lengthy and loose. Another Award of Merit was given to NING Wei-Cheng's equipment-like“N15-09”

which allows audience members to lie in a designed coffin to experience specific audio effects. Strangely, though, whoever has passed away cannot see nor hear,

so the coffin is not necessary, with the artist noting,“Maybe the coffin is a film canister of life.”
Rather than concrete content, digital arts puts more emphasis on technology and even bio-technology. Honorable Mention winner in the Hybrid Art
category at the 2013 Prix Ars Electronica, Philip Ross, utilized fungi as an art medium. He injected fungi cells into sawdust which solidified after one week. After

it dries out, sawdust becomes a light, but tough, material that is able to replace plastics, offering added possibilities for green buildings.
Prix Ars Electronica had 11 categories, mostly connected to technology, including Computer Graphics (CG), Computer Animation (CA), Interactive Art
(IA), Digital Music (DM), Hybrid Art (HA), Net Art (NET), Digital Communities (DC) and New Idea (NI). However, CG is no longer among the competition
categories and no obvious game arts have been witnessed. Nevertheless, Prix Ars Electronica takes turns holding different art contests every year, similar to
the Chiayi Art Exhibition. There are plenty art categories for artists and hosts to reference, and I hope that Taiwan's digital arts can further blossom with jurors
spending more time evaluating works in this category.
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