New Smart Objects: How Digital Transactions Have Enabled a New Mode of Representation in Painting

The aim of the thesis is to understand how the influence of digital media has led to new ways of consuming and creating painting, enabling a new mode of representation. It is argued that a fundamental problem of contemporary art discourse is the exclusion of painting from most discussion of New Media, despite a multitude of shared conceptual and procedural approaches. The thesis first provides an overview of contemporary painting practice, presenting two dominant areas: ‘Provisional Painting’ and ‘Post-Internet Painting’. It is argued that both are insufficient to describe the complexities of painting in relation to the broader contemporary condition as influenced by digital media. The thesis then discusses fundamental aspects of digital technology, explaining how it has previously been used by artists. It is proposed that until recently the ‘digital translation’ was the dominant process in the utilisation of digital technology in painting, functioning to translate images between de-materialised and materialised form. It is also argued that artists are now engaging in a process termed the ‘digital transformation’; an action that moves beyond the digital translation as simply the intentioned alteration of image and object. The resulting alteration is termed the ‘visual artifact’. The ‘digital transaction’ is employed to describe the enacting of these processes between digital media and materialised forms, while ‘the Archive’ is used to describe the complete system of exchange through which these processes occur—incorporating the Internet and other forms of media. Five case studies of work undertaken during the research process demonstrate the process of creation and show how the aforementioned terms are applied. Finally, the thesis reflects on how this work demonstrates a new mode of painting—termed ‘New Representation’. The accompanying creative work presented for examination is a series of paintings presented at Chalk Horse Gallery in Sydney