Appropriation

A major aspect of digital art is appropriation. A computer, the main tool of the digital artist, is empty. It requires some form of media to be useful. A photograph can be scanned, a DVD and audio CD can be ripped. These media formats are used by large corporations to create (& sell) the visual and audio culture we interact with everyday. The computer allows artists (and everyone else) to take control of the media from mass culture and re-process it through our own unique filters. The mashed-up music album "the Grey album" and "Star Wars the Phantom Edit" are two popular examples that show the re-working of media through appropriation. Of course with the use of media comes power, the power to sway thought and implant ideas. The fear of relinquishing this power is what drives the increasing lockdown of media content by large corporations (along with the fear of loosing money).