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Mary Jane Montalto
New York NY US
Updated: 2024-09-04 19:37:41

STATEMENT OF WORK

This series of painting draws from my experience with computers involving the transition from punch cards to the evolution of an extremely accessible OS. As the technology continues to grow, the user no longer is aware of the code operating in the background, and there is an unquestioning acceptance of what the speed offers in our daily activities. At first I was curious and then intrigued with the change, both in social behaviors and perceptual comprehension as humans adapt.

These paintings reference change in visual and mental perception by refactoring traditional methods of art production with computer software. Code mimics the human brain capacity to interpret light using a file comprised of a field of numbers, and source material for these paintings is derived from smartphones pics and scanned photographs. Some of the photos date from the middle of the 20th century. Images are brought to the painting surface by way of transfer, using the printer as an extension of the painter’s brush.

There is a push and pull struggle with the output of the printer, partially due to the unstable nature of the ink. Within the production of the painting, there is possibility of alteration over time, somewhat like the ever-changing state of culture at large.