Let’s Get Digital!

By David Honig, Esq.

In 1946 the University of Pennsylvania’s Moore School of Electrical Engineering unveiled the Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC) introducing the world to what is often referred to as the first general purpose reprogrammable computer. Although ENIAC’s origins were military, the development of ENIAC was funded by the United States Army, its legacy is much more. Computer technology, evolved from a tool for the military, into, among other industries and applications, a tool for the arts and spawned a new genre: digital art. Some of the pioneers of digital art include Lillian Schwartz and Gopakumar R.

In the twenty-first century, digital art is a fast growing medium even if it is not fully understood or integrated into the mainstream art world yet. Schools such as the University of Oregon, the University of Washington and Pratt Institute offer degrees in digital art. Additionally, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has funded The Space, a website that allows its users to explore digital art that has been commissioned or licensed by the website. According to BBC News, the BBC has already spent £3.6 million on The Space with another £8.1 million committed to the project. In addition to the BBC other major players in the art world have invested in digital art. Since 2002, the Whitney Museum of American Art has hosted an online gallery for digital art called Artport. According to the Artport website, it “provides access to original art works commissioned specifically for the artport by the Whitney…”  

As digital art becomes more accepted, purchased and commissioned by private collectors and institutions, like the BBC and the Whitney Museum, a new problem arises, namely dealing with issues of authenticity and reproducibility. The problem of authentication and unauthorized reproduction is often present when any form of copyrightable content is stored as a digital file. However, digital art presents a unique take on issues of authentication and unauthorized reproduction because unlike movies or music, the value of art is partially based on scarcity and the ability to prove authenticity.