Aaron Koblin’s “Flight Patterns” shows a real-time image of the aircraft flight paths over the United States.
Alice Rawsthorn writes about the digital art show at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. I recommend reading the article and wish the show were here for me to see on my non-traveling budget! I've often felt awkward about digital art, but I think mostly because I use my computer mostly for what I'd call graphic design and for my art works, the computer comes in handy for making templates and precise measuring sans tedious ruler work. I'd say it's just not my bag - I crave the physical processes of drawing, painting, printing, sculpting, sewing, etc. etc. - so my attraction to digital art has been limited. This show, on the other hand, is greatly attractive to me and it brings to mind the digital works seen now and then (individual works, not a whole show) that have peeked my curiosity and art loving joy!
That all sounds a bit art lover-ish. From the perspective of an artist who makes art related to repetitive and meditative processes, the image of Aaron Koblin's work, "Flight Patterns" touches home. If in each plane flight stretched a brilliant colored thread from departure to arrival, the representation of repetition, much like weaving weft back and forth through the warp, could be gorgeous. (How appropriate that it is digitally represented as the consequences of this project in physical space would obviously create environmental and social problems - Christo and Jean-Claude could have told us that!).
