The Forever Saga 

Stanley Artgerm Lau created this digital painting, "The Forever Saga" in the 20th Century using digital painting techniques. Digital painting, as employed here, mirrors the tradition of oil painting. The image is built up in layers, with careful attention to light and shadow, emulating textures found in the physical world. Yet this image exists solely as data, its tangibility only apparent when printed or viewed on a screen. The artist's hand is translated through digital tools. There’s a complex interaction between human intention and the capabilities of the software used. The artist's labor is intertwined with the technology that enables it. In contrast to traditional media, digital art exists within a network of global exchange, readily reproduced and disseminated. Considering the artwork as a product of digital labor, we begin to question distinctions between art and craft. The image invites us to reconsider our relationship to a world where the hand and the machine are inextricably linked.