Digital Cubism

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Digital Cubism is an expansion and evolution of the Cubist style set forth by Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso during the early years of the 20th century. Braque and Picasso attempted to depict objects in multiple perspectives. Simply showing one image of an object was not enough to describe its essence. By showing more than one perspective, it was a more realistic representation. The roots of Cubism lie in inspiration from African icons. Traditional subject matter within Cubism includes still lifes, figures, architecture, and landscapes. The artistic style focuses on the formal elements of shape and perspective. It reduces all form to its most basic geometrical shape and then attempts to show multiple perspectives. Digital Cubism builds off these principles and attempts to evolve the artistic style through the modern technology of video.
Layered over the images of the video are audio clips of two definitions of Cubism. Each definition was expressed audibly by a computer-generated voice. The audio clips were fragmented into individual words and scattered across the entirety of the video. Different definitions and different voices create imagery of multiple dimensions.
The video was created with three distinct parts. The beginning features images of African dress and dance. This is directly inspired by Pablo Picasso’s early cubist paintings, such as Les Demoiselles d'Avignon. The masks, dress, and dance emulate the abstract nature of his early works. Digital Cubism takes these elements and adds movement in a way that traditional painting could never achieve. The quick movement of the African dancers feet creates an awareness of time. This fourth-dimension of reality is explored throughout the duration of the video.
The second act focuses on the still life. Wine and fruit are depicted at various scales and angles as to emulate the multiple perspectives seen in cubist still life such as Braque’s, Still Life (with clarinet). While movement was emphasized in the beginning, this scene focuses on creating stillness that is essential to an effective still life.
Taking iconography from Duchamp’s, Nude Descending a Staircase, Digital Cubism transitions into an expression of the human body. The extravagant costumes of geometric shape are layered to give the viewer a sense of multiple perspectives at once. Muted colors pay tribute to the early ideals of cubism in which form is emphasized over color. The modern style of clothes and striking nature of the figures brings a modern flare to a style that was once the most progressive artistic movement of its time.
The final scene of Digital Cubism forecasts imagery of the future. Three-dimensional projection mapping is a new technology that uses light to project three-dimensional images onto a two-dimensional plane. The multiple perspectives in classic cubism created a new dimension in which art could be viewed. The inclusion of time as well as the illusion of teleportation adds new dimensions to the genre. The inception of video within video pushes the evolution of artistic style.

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