JEFF MURPHY
My current project, Dig, explores the interplay between our industrial past, current development, and the natural world. The images posses a strong psychological undercurrent through both the iconography and the application of textural surface patinas, both physical and digital.
The images begin as rudimentary charcoal drawing that when photographed and reworked, become virtual landscapes. Elements and symbols reflecting loss, industrial development, childhood, decay, and disinterment are then worked into this terrain under layers of digital material. The resulting 360 degree landscape Flash panoramas were to be my original end point. However, I decided to rework the images further and inter them with a true physical barrier. So, the works were printed onto large pieces of cotton sateen fabric, adhered to wood, and coated with several layers of wax medium.
In the end, the final pieces reflect a rich combination of physical and digital layering. I consider both the 360 Panoramas and the works on cloth to be finished works. The two formats each distinguishing characteristics that make them unique, yet both possess this digital/analogue duality.
BIOGRAPHY:
Jeff Murphy has been working with digital media for more than a decade, exploring a wide range of production and publication techniques in a quickly advancing and dynamic field. He has exhibited on the World Wide Web in curated exhibits such as "@art" (the University of Illinois) and "Digitally Born" (the Alternative Museum, NY), developed interactive projects for both the Web and CD, and has presented his works in traditional gallery and museum settings with solo exhibitions at such places as The Mint Museum of Art, The University of Notre Dame, and The University of Colorado. His work has been published in a diverse array of publications including WIRED Magazine, World Art Magazine, and the textbook Exploring Color Photography. He has received individual artist grants from the Arts and Science Council, the Ohio Arts Council and the North Carolina Arts Council. Jeff currently is an Associate Professor of Art at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte where he teaches digital imaging, interactive design, photography, video, and animation. He received his BFA from the Ohio State University in 1989 and his MFA from the University of Florida in 1995.
http://www.murphydigitalart.com