NMA@NID

I taught a New Media Art workshop at the National Institute of Design [NID] in Ahmedabad, India this past July. This was the first time for these New Media Design graduate students to experience computer technology within the context of Fine Arts. They were highly skilled on the computer. It was just a matter of conceptualizing and implementing art projects.

I feel that new media art should follow traditional conventions in the sense of appreciation for existing foundations and their various Art Movements. I tried to instill this within the workshop process, and an overview of the exhibition saw an emotional component and search for truth that permeate the Fine Arts.

Most of the work on exhibit was time-based or art in motion with some interactivity [Connective Art] and static representation via print. There was a surprising maturity of the works on display, particularly since this was the first time for this group of students to pursue self-expression this way.

And I feel that the students avoided "gimmicks" and "trends" that seem to dominate the attempt of making art in a new media sense. I consider much of new media that claims to be art to be nothing more than a maze of aptitude exercises and over-intellectualization with little to no concern for aesthetics and the emotional state.

I had the opportunity to exhibit with my students, so I decided to generate Kites for Gandhi as an offering and tribute to the late Mahatma Gandhi, philosopher and leader of the people in India. Read more about Gandhi. Ahmedabad, where the NID is located, is also near Kochrab/Sabarmati where Gandhi founded an ashram in 1917. I spent several meaningful hours there.

NMA@NID exhibition

Kites for Gandhi (allow loading time)

Sabarmati Ashram

NID

Tom R. Chambers
http://tomrchambers.com