Diane Fenster Diane Fenster
Dissolving Boundaries:
Beyond the Architecture of Photography
"Mystery cannot be put into words."
-Joseph Cornell
My involvement with computer art began ten years ago. I was intrigued by
the rumors of the potential that the Macintosh had to offer as an artistic
tool. I soon discovered that computer technology provided me with the
opportunity to manipulate, edit and expand the photomontage format that I
felt most suited my personal artistic expression. My work reflects my
interest in both the Dada and Surrealist art movements, primarily in the
use of the juxtaposition of seemingly unrelated visual elements. This
methodology enables me to present an almost "cinematic" storyline based on
the relationship of each of the vignettes within a particular piece. The
computer offers me an even wider range of possibilities within the
photomontage format. The technology has actually freed my range of
expression and allowed an even more personal shaping of the symbolic
elements I use in my work.
There is an odd contradiction in my current work in that I am attempting to
create "mythic images" which relate both to the collective unconscious and
the personal process of individuation while using advanced industrial
technology. I am hoping to move beyond some of the current hard edged
approaches to computer art and to present both in image content and
coloration, a world where the borders are not so well defined. Here is
where the technology excels in providing me with a way of crafting
dreamlike sequences that seemingly float into each other, overlap and
merge, reflecting the inner processes I am attempting to portray.
My art is a combination of myth, spirit, science and technology. I see
myself as a modern alchemist, using silicon chips as a tool to transform
electrical patterns into art. As I have indicated previously, my attempt to
portray an element of mystery is the guiding factor in these works. The
juxtaposition of the image elements hopefully serves as a catalyst for the
viewer's recognition of her/his own inner processes of transformation. The
computer does not destroy your soul as I once thought but rather has
liberated a creative aspect of the self which might have otherwise remained
undiscovered.
Canto Two and Canto Three
from The Hide and Seek Series
This work in progress is my most recent and deals with issues of self,
gender identification and intimacy. My starting point in each piece are
lines of poetry by Vicente Huidobro, the Chilean Surrealist poet. Using the
Surrealist poetic concept of the "cut up" as a model, I am creating a new
poem from the selected fragments of Huidobro's work. The images in the
series are numbered and when placed in order, will create a new poem which
is autobiographical in nature.
Listen to Diane Fenster's sound file. (74K)
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