ARTS
The Michigan Daily
Monday, January 26, 1987
Page 7
Are computer graphics putting
the art school out of business?
By Joseph Steketee
- A television screen opens to an
advertisement of a popular brand
,name razor blade product. A larger
than life male face begins to be
meticulouslyy shaven by a space
gaged, super modern disposable
razor.
The image is graphic, well pol -
ished and very memorable. The col -
-ors are striking, the movement is
,smooth and the look and feel of the
ad are very chic. This is just one of
-today's many newer advertisements
#utilizing a technique called comput -
er animation. Through the use of
computer enhanced color images
and mathematically calculated three
.,,dimensional movements, designers
and advertisers can create short "life
like" films for ads, movie makers
and educational media.
The look of these images are
new, so new in fact that that their
newness can be captivating and
exciting enough for viewers to take
great notice. Advertisers have real -
ized the capabilities of computer
generated art and have flooded the
market with these ads in hopes of a
newer image and increased sales.
A new form of art has branched
off of this medium in the
advertising world and into the
galleries. Utilizing huge surfaces,
computer generated designs, swirl -
ing with mathematical color com -
binations, have been created by
mathematicians and have recently
been shown at the Slusser Gallery
at the Art and Architecture Building
on the north campus.
At first look the works take on a
more light prism effect. The red,
blue, green and various other color
combinations used in these pieces
are reminiscent of the psychedelic
art of the 60's and early 70's. The
mathematicians responsible for
these creations claim they are not
artists. The creators claim to have
only taken designs made from
mathematical equations, assigning
different color combinations to
various designs and letting the com -
puter do the rest.
It is this random effect that crit -
ics claim these pieces not to be art,
while followers believe these huge
and colorfully symmetrical works
to be beautiful and expressive and
nothing if not considered an art
form.
So the questions arise for the
new generation of computer art
viewers. Where is the line drawn
between the applications of this
medium in the advertising world
and the gallery? How much artistic
input is required to create this art,
and if there is no artistic input then
is it art? The reserve of newer ap -
plications of these formulas and
color combinations have only been
slightly realized. The art world has
a new born to care for. How this
new form of computer art is
perceived by the masses will dictate
it's future in the gallery.
Asection of the Mandelbrot set, magnified at least 1 million times. The set
is a mathematical "dictionary" mapping numbers in the complex plane.
The pattern's beauty is not completely understood.
Wan ted:
A decent plot, cast, etc.
By Karen Mattsson
Nick Randall (Rutgar Hauer) is
a bounty hunter. He plays the
harmonica, hangs a cow skull on
his wall, and is the great-grandson
of Josh Randall. This film has no
other kinship to Steve McQueen's
old western series except the
title,Wanted Dead or Alive. The
movie is more closely related to
Dirty Harry. Bumbling, inept cops
can never handle major crimes, so
they call in the stern,
expressionless savior. Single-hand -
ed, our man shoots down anybody
he doesn't quite like. He can do
that, because he is "outside of the
law".
This time the well-armed hero
has carefully styled blond hair, and
the bad guys are Middle Eastern
terrorists. Gene Simmons, the lead
singer of KISS, is the lead terrorist
without a cause. He is perfect at
looking nasty and malevolent, but
then, he has had a lot of practice.
The last time he played evil killer
was in the sci-fi thriller Runaway,
with Tom Selleck.
The film is set in the grimy
sections of Los Angeles, where
there is no sunshine. The night is
lit with the harsh glare of bare
light-bulbs. The only color that
interrupts the greyness and dark
shadows is red. Blood splashes, and
pours, and flows as people expire in
great numbers. The story has been
used again and again, so you know
what to expect. The deaths are
gruesomely explicit, Randall is hard
to care about, and every now and
then there is a laugh. Don't be too
upset if you miss this film: you've
seen it all before.
{I tVV
THE
I \IVERSIT~
MUSICIANS
WANTED
ficeof
rInancial
Aid-
DEADLINE
SPRING/SUMMER 1987
RNANCIAL AID APPLICATIONS
TO PLAY AT SOUNDSTAGE
THURSDAYS IN THE U-CLUB
rock/jazz/blues/reggae
ALL TYPES OF BANDS and/or SOLOISTS WELCOME
Cal 763-1107 for info and audition times
2011 STUDENT ACTIVITIES BUILDING
DEADLINE: Friday, January 30, 1987
Application forms are available at the Office of Financial Aid. Students who will
enroll full time may apply for grants, Perkins National Direct Student Loans and
College Work-Study. Students who will enroll at least half time may apply for
College Work-Study.
Submit the application form by Friday, January 30, 1987, to insure priority con-
sideration for available funding.
V4
ndst
1;
Totally tubular:
The Swiss mask-mime theater troupe, Mummenschanz, will perform
tonight and tomorrow at 8:00 p.m. at the Power Center. Ticket prices
range from $15 to $18. For tickets and further information, contact the
University Musical Society at 764-2538.
OFFICE HOURS:
Mon, Tue, Wed, Fri 8:15-11:45 and 1:00-4:00
Thurs 10:00-11:45 and 1:00-4:00
TELEPHONES:
Information: 763-6600
presents
'KLAHOMA!
MASS MEETING
TUESDAY, JANUARY 27 7:30 PM
PENDLETON ROOM, MICHIGAN UNION
actors, assistants & crew members needed
For more information cal 763-1107
SPRING BREAK BEGINS
on February 21
Reservations now being accepted
for February tanning sessions when purchased
~at
TANNING CENTERS
CAMPUSWETSD
216 S. State 6 Sessions 196WStaiDE
for 1896 W1.9Stadium
747-8844 662-2602
Doily 8-8 pm Doily 9-9 pm
Sot 9-5 pm Student ID Rquird Sat 9-5 pm
Sun 12-5 pm Expires 3-15-87d No other offers apply Sun 11-5 p.m.
M N t
T rins of
?fie uiivrsi &"vb~
M&0 i(L twiu w9outo hair
noted aruthdaa aumr a
lr I'wr~
" Aerobic Dance
e Ballroom Dance
" Bartending
" Beer Appreciation
and Homebrewing
" CPR
" Financial
Planning
" Fitness/Weight
Training
* Massage
" Continuing
" Macintosh Magic
* Personal Drama
* Pool
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(Beg. & Adv.)
* Speed Reading
" Study Skills
" Vegetarian
Cooking
* Wine Tasting
" Yoga
" Meditation and