Jim Butkus: Untitled 76

Artist(s):

• Jim Butkus

Title:

Untitled 76

Exhibition:

• SIGGRAPH 1998: Touchware

Creation Year:

1995

Medium:

Fujix pictrography print on glossy paper

Size:

10" x 8"

Category:

• 2D & Wall-Hung

Keywords:

• digital photography
• illusion

Artist Statement:

This group of images has evolved from photographic works that emphasize the artificial nature of that medium and draw on its capacity to project idealized environments.

Throughout this evolution, I have developed an increased interest in objects and how we perceive them in photographs. The images include elements such as miniature toys, diagrams, cursive and gestural marks, industrial debris, and photographs themselves combined with synthetically generated, three-dimensional digital objects.

Within the artificial framework of a digitized photograph, I can easily juxtapose these found and virtual objects and lead the viewer to new associations among them. I find this new arrangement to be a more flexible extension of traditionally constructed photographic tableaux, one in which the camera may isolate and scrutinize objects for comparison. Through this process of controlled fragmentation and reassembly, I hope to create a representation that reflects my interest in photographic observation and illusion.