Fluid Borders:
The Aesthetic Evolution of Digital Sculpture(con't)
                                                                                                  by Christiane Paul
Digital sculpture -- A Trojan Horse?

Comprising a variety of different forms and activities, the term digital or virtual sculpture (not to mention the terms infosculpture, robosculpture or telesculpture), is particularly encompassing and consequently might be slightly confusing for those who aren't immersed in the digital world.

Taking a look at the respective works of digital sculptors, one immediately recognizes the hybrid nature of the art form. Some of the artists use various digital technologies to create physical objects while others design sculptures that exclusively exist in the virtual realm. Robert Michael Smith feels that "most of us have come to accept that digital sculpture refers to objects manufactured through CAD/CAM, CNC milling and/or Rapid Prototyping processes while virtual sculpture refers to work functioning within various venues, such as cyberspace/Virtual Reality/3D Animation." The boundaries are fluid and Smith is comfortable with the title "digital sculptor" as a shorthand explanation of his experiments with digital technologies for sculpture design, production, presentation, and broadcasting.

Most of the sculptors don't feel that the label "digital" distracts from the specifics of the art they are creating -- as Keith Brown points out, "art should, in any case, transcend the medium" -- and seem to understand themselves primarily as sculptors minus classifying additions such as computer, virtual or digital. Smith, for example, sees himself as an object maker who happens to make virtual sculptures for experimental concept/content development, and Michael Rees emphasizes that the minute he would see another valuable way to conduct meaning in his sculpture, he would employ it, be it computer-related or not.

It may very well be that there is less confusion on the creator than the reception end. Reductionist effects of the label electronic art in general may be traced in the writings of journalists and critics and sometimes lead to confusion in institutions, as Christian Lavigne points out.

He recounts that his request for support from the French Cultural Ministry for a piece utilizing 3D and rapid prototyping led to a discussion with a friendly delegate who wasn't sure if the Multimedia Committee or the Sculpture Committee would be the responsible department. Lavigne made a convincing argument that he was going to create a physical object -- in his humble opinion, a sculpture. He compares the label "digital sculpture" to a Trojan horse that allows to parade original art works in front of the media or industry which don't fully understand the pieces' depth. Had Einstein resembled Marilyn Monroe, as Lavigne puts it, there would have been more interest in physics in the schools and on television.