"From the moment of its sesquicentennial in 1989, photography was dead--or, more precisely, radically and permanently displaced--as was painting 150 years before." William Mitchell "The Reconfigured Eye," 1992
The digital medium has begun to initiate an entirely new paradigm, much like photography did in the past century. Ironically, it is photography itself that appears to be particularly affected. Digital imaging technology has advanced so rapidly in recent years that we are now able to seamlessly and effortlessly alter, collage, or even synthesize imagery that can no longer be told apart from 'actual' photographs. As a result, the presumed integrity and objectivity of photography is being called into question. In an era that facilitates easy manipulation, the idea that a photograph is a truthful reflection or index of reality no longer carries the same conviction.
In the digital realm there is only a thin line that separates reality from fiction or, for that matter, one medium from another. The computer is indiscriminate and does not distinguish between a painting, drawing, or photograph. Within the digital realm boundaries therefore tend to dissolve. The ramifications are considerable and are only now beginning to be explored.
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