Mariam Nihal
Saudi Gazette
Digital Graffiti at Alys Beach is a unique art festival where artists are allowed to use digital technologies to depict their works on the iconic white walls of Alys Beach in Florida, USA. The art festival features 27 graphic artists from eight countries that compete for cash prizes worth $10,000.
Street art, mainly using graffiti, is a trending art medium now seen all across the world including Saudi Arabia. The contemporary names associated with graffiti are ‘Photon Bombing,’ ‘Guerilla Projection’ or ‘Urban Projection.’
The three-day festival celebrates underground artists around the world. Artists use the latest design and animation tools to create vibrant images onto skyscrapers and other urban structures to communicate artistic expression. Digital Graffiti helps gather genius minds including curators, producers, celebrities, art lovers in one place to celebrate and showcase the unique talents of digital artists.
“Alys Beach becomes their blank canvas,” said Kelli Siler, Alys Beach Director of Events. “Digital Graffiti explores how design, technology and architecture can intertwine to create entirely new art forms. For one evening, Alys Beach opens its doors, courtyards and pedestrian paths to innovative companies and ground-breaking artists who fuse these three components to transform our entire town into a living work of art.”
Digital Graffiti 2015 Finalist, Courtney Egan, said the trend is yet to go bigger. “With most of my work, I enjoy creating moving image art experiences in personal homes. I want my work to be accessible in ambient, daily lighting conditions – that does not require complete darkness – and to be experienced on a daily basis, like a painting or other 2-D still art that people hang. I am also very encouraged by LED lamp technology, that will decrease projector heat and maintenance, and I’m excited by the microcomputer trend where video can be programmed to play in specific ways. I think all this will lead to projection being used in surprising ways.”
Another finalist, Victoria Febrer, said that while projection art has amazing potential as a grand spectacle, particularly with mapping onto large architectural surfaces, she has been drawn to more intimate experiences where the spectator can relate to the piece in a space that they inhabit and interact with, rather than as a viewer looking up at a screen. “I have been experimenting with this in larger pieces such as MarDesierto/DesertSea,” Febrer added.
The line up of artists include: Muriel Montini from Paris, France; Aaron Freimark of Cold Spring, N.Y.; Jesc Bunyard of Huddersfield, United Kingdom; David Bennett of Nashville, Tenn.; Jonathan McCabe, of Canberra, Australia; Uwe Schweer-Lambers of Bielefeld, Germany; Zlatko Cosic of St. Louis, Mo.; Daniel Wechsler of Ramat Hasharon, Israel; Jessica Buie of San Diego, Calif.; Joon Sung of Bowling Green, Ky.; and Jasmine Powell of Berlin, Germany. Christine Lucy Latimer of Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Courtney Egan of New Orleans, La.; Victoria Febrer of New York City; Olga Guse of Dresden, Germany; David Sullivan of New Orleans; Tracy Miller-Robbins of Westerville, Ohio; Adam Forrester of Ruston, La.; Krystal Schultheiss of Melbourne, Australia; Alexandra David of Montclair, N.J.; and Keaton Fox of Miami; Andrew Demirjian of Palisades Park, N.J., and Shantell Martin of New York City. Digital Graffiti veterans Sean Capone of Brooklyn, N.Y., Robert Seidel of Berlin, Germany, and Yandell Walton of Melbourne, Australia will showcase works as well.
