David West's Digital Cartography

Hanging right now at Belhaven's Bitsy Irby Visual Arts and Dance Center Gallery is a body of work called Digital Cartography by Baton Rouge artist David West. The description of the show is pretty well stated on Belhaven's website and I don't think that there is any reason for me to try to rewrite it. It says... "David West combines traditional print techniques with digital media to create a space that exists partly in the analog world, and partly in the digital. By borrowing motifs from architecture, mapmaking, and computer code, this recent work highlights the influence of the digital age on traditional art making practices." David recently received his MFA degree from LSU in Printmaking; however, printmaking is only one of several mediums used to construct this work. One of the pieces is an interactive projection called "Shift into Place" which places the viewer into the artwork by recording a wall graphic and projecting it on the opposite corner of the space. Several of the other pieces combine printmaking with silkscreen applied to plexiglass creating a multi-layered graphic that, like the projection, can only be fully experienced in person. The industrial imagery such as telephone poles and maps contrasted with strong abstract designs create a sense of urban decay with a beautiful promise for the future. Here's some of the work, but again you should really see these in person. I believe that the show will be up through October.

"Shift into Place" Wall Graphic

"Shift into Place" projection

"Chiba City II"

"Dead Television Channels I"

"Digital Sprawl II"