I
define myself as a visual artist who creates work to be hung in
a physical space and who uses digital tools to assist him in the
production of his work.
"Alphanumeric
Painting" is one of the titles that has been attributed to
my work. It is a good title because all the compositional elements
in my work are text-based materials.
Though
the elements are comprised of language, I am not trying to produce
cognitive or syntactic meaning. This is why I use abbreviated phrases,
single words and sometimes I will even use only parts of words or
single characters. I do this because the printed word is displayed
in our environment in a non-linear fashion. I am representing this
in my visual work. I am documenting how the printed word is used
in the world around us today.
I have
a strong interest in dissolving conventional boundaries between
artistic disciplines. In my work I am fusing the divide between
the literary and fine arts. This is another reason why I have made
the decision to use text as the main compositional element in my
paintings. For me it is necessary to bridge this divide because,
firstly, it can be argued that literature has evolved into a visual
art form, and, secondly, painting has never fully explored language
as a compositional tool. When I recognized this unexplored terrain,
I was immediately drawn to it, sensing that there was much to be
reaped by advancing in this direction and using the elements from
one discipline (literature) in the structure and design of another
(painting).
I am
also intentionally spanning the gulf between net art and gallery
art. Currently there is a tendency for net artists and gallery artists
to polarize. I personally do not think this is necessary; net art
is additive. Gallery artists, like myself, can utilize many of the
new tools that net art has used, but we can apply them innovatively.
Some
people who are traditionally oriented in their thinking are not
prepared to accept the value of my work because of the fact that
my hand has not physically touched the painting. Some artists have
worked around this dilemma by adding other media to digitally assisted
visual work either by treating the paper with watercolor before
printing the work or by applying other media like acrylic or oil
to the work after it has been printed. This is a practice I have
used in my work. For some collectors this adds value to my work.
To other collectors and critics, this is not a significant issue.
I like
to be flexible; sometimes a work calls for additional media to be
incorporated into it. What is most important to me is that I do
not allow ideologies to dictate how I produce my work. My visceral
response to my work is more important to me than whether it conforms
to an ideology.
My
hope is that the viewer will stand in front of my work and judge
it experientially. I create my paintings for the viewer to experience
and enjoy through the use of their intuitive understanding and emotional
intelligence.
Editors' Note: Due to the nature of August Highland's
artwork, we could not transfer it to our website intact. Therefore,
we are publishing the links to the site where it is presently hosted.
Once there, use the next button to advance through a particular
piece.
Title: Boulder, Co.
Project: Alphanumeric Labs
(25 works from a series of 500)
http://www.alphanumericlabs.com/boulder/boulder001.html
(press next to advance through the piece)
Title: Postage Stamp
Project: Alphanumeric Labs
(25 works from a series of 500)
http://www.alphanumericlabs.com/postage_stamp/postage_stamp001.html
(press next to advance through the piece)
Title: Prague.
Project: Alphanumeric Labs
(25 works from a series of 500)
http://www.alphanumericlabs.com/prague/prague001.html
(press next to advance through the piece)
Title:
South Africa
Project: Alphanumeric Labs
(25 works from a series of 500)
http://www.alphanumericlabs.com/south_africa/south_africa001.html
(press next to advance through the piece)
Title:
Madrid
Project: Alphanumeric Labs
(25 works from a series of 500)
http://www.alphanumericlabs.com/madrid/madrid001.html
(press next to advance through the piece)
Title:
UK
Project: Alphanumeric Labs
(25 works from a series of 500)
http://www.alphanumericlabs.com/uk/uk001.html
(press next to advance through the piece)
Title:
Berlin
Project: Alphanumeric Labs
(25 works from a series of 500)
http://www.alphanumericlabs.com/berlin/berlin001.html
(press next to advance through the piece)
Title:
Amsterdam
Project: Alphanumeric Labs
(25 works from a series of 500)
http://www.alphanumericlabs.com/amsterdam/amsterdam001.html
(press next to advance through the piece)
Title:
Paris
Project: Alphanumeric Labs
(25 works from a series of 500)
http://www.alphanumericlabs.com/paris/paris001.html
(press next to advance through the piece)
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