San Diego is home to one of the world’s largest digital art shows.
The second annual Art of Digital show, which will run through Nov. 11 at the Lyceum Theatre gallery in Horton Plaza, features digital painting, digital video art and computer-based illustration from artists across the globe.
“There are some quite striking images in this show,” said Neal Benezra, director of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and judge of this year’s Art of Digital show. “We were able to select some really good images in a variety of different media, all of them digital, of course.”
For this show, digital art is defined as work that is either created using computer software or based on an existing piece that is visibly modified with software.
While framed digital paintings and images compose the bulk of the artwork, the show also features 16 digital videos, a computer-based interactive piece, a digital textile piece and a digital sculpture.
The judges chose 104 winning selections from almost 3,000 entries submitted by artists in 40 different countries. Benezra focused on pieces that were unique and memorable and that made a statement.
“This is work that is sophisticated and mature and has a signature look and content about it,” he added.
Among the chosen works, eight were created by artists living in San Diego County, including Sam Chem from La Jolla.
While all of the pieces will be on display for the entirety of the show, a few special events are sure to draw bigger crowds.
On Oct. 29, the video art pieces, which are regularly displayed on small screens in the gallery, will be shown on a large theater screen. On Nov. 6, Richard Taylor, the visual effects supervisor for “Tron,” one of the earliest films to showcase computer graphics, will speak.
The show is produced by Steven Churchill, primarily as a means to showcase digital art and help artists gain recognition. Churchill has been working with digital artists since the ’80s, when he produced the world’s first computer animation film festival in La Jolla.
The first year of the Art of Digital Show was in 2006, and the overwhelming success of the show convinced him to organize a second.
Concerning his fascination with digital art, Churchill said, “You can basically do anything you want. From your imagination, you can bring forth any image, any visual rendering of an idea that you please.
“There’s really no limits at all ” you can do anything from a photorealistic depiction of a scene to the most wild, fantastic, mind-bending imagery you can imagine.”
For more information on the Art of Digital Show, visit www.artofdigitalshow.com.