An interview with a Digital Artist. (New Technologies).

Flora Iacchia is an artist who believes that the times have changed and that painting should change with the times. Her approach to digital painting, which she calls Modern Arts, incorporates the latest software engineering principles. Recently, SchoolArts talked with her about her work.

SchoolArts: Flora, tell us about your approach to digital painting.

Flora Iacchia: I treat a digital painting as a software product. This allows me to produce a large number of versions of these paintings and to open them up to requests for customization and enhancements. In doing so, a given painting becomes transformed again and again via all the changes I make to the moods of the work of art and to its components.

From my perspective, such a way of working extends the life cycle of a digital painting, allowing audiences to experience all the richness associated with the creative process and the transformation of the work of art.

Another advantage is that the audience can experience the painting in a dynamic mode as opposed to a passive mode because they are able to influence the content of a digital painting via this unique approach.

SA: Do you think teachers should be using this approach in the classroom?

FI: Art teachers have a tot to gain by introducing such an approach into the classroom. Today, students are fascinated by the artistic opportunities of the computer medium, so it is easy to get them started in painting digitally. Good results can be achieved by simply using the Microsoft[R] Paint Accessory, which is included in many Microsoft Packages. I have always had a good level of success with this accessory and have been able to produce museum-quality works of art with it. However, given that many other software paint packages exist and have their unique features, it is worthwhile to explore the various options available on the market.

Everyone has an artistic vision. Modern Arts provide teachers and their students with many opportunities to unleash their artistic vision and to collaborate to create imaginative work of arts. Plus, this type of an activity can also strengthen existing bonds amongst schools as it is possible to imagine creative collaboration amongst students and teachers sprouting across the country.

SA: How do you suggest teachers get started?

FI: To help art teachers get started, I am willing to e-mail them for free my Modern Art Digital Painting entitled Bobette. Teachers can use it as a tool in the classroom teach their students how to Change the painting, how to experiment with its moods, and how to modify its components to produce new derivative paintings. To obtain a free copy of Bobette, for use in the classroom, please send a query to [e-mail].

I believe that this approach will help many art teachers jumpstart their efforts to bring digital arts to the classroom. I also encourage teachers to post the resulting paintings produced by their students on their school's website.

I hope that a string of such exhibits will flourish across states and communities, inspiring other teachers and students to try painting with Bobette and to discover, this way, a new creative outlet that can benefit their lives.

SA: Flora, how can teachers find out more about your work?

FI: My Modern Arts digital paintings are currently on display on one of the most popular websites, www.infobel.com. The site has attracted over 45,000 visitors to my exhibit.

What is particularly arresting about my current exhibit on this site is that it integrates an element of spontaneous surprise. Although these paintings feature a central subject, they are made up, in many cases, of a multitude of subtle intricate paintings or fragments of paintings, which are not immediately noticeable to the eyes, and can only be observed from viewing or imagining the paintings from different angles.

SA: Thank you, Flora. Hopefully the readers of SchoolArts will be contacting you at [e-mail] and requesting a copy of Bobette so that students can experiment with changing its moods and meanings.

About the Artist

Flora studied sculpture and painting in Santa Barbara, California, where she was a student of recognized artist Rebecca Davis. She holds several college degrees and pursued post-graduate grant research at Harvard University. Besides Modern Arts digital paintings, she has created sculptures, modern graffiti art, and cities of New Pop Art objects. Flora, who now resides in Fairfax, Virginia, has traveled widely and has lived in the U.S., Europe, and Africa.