Sky’s the limit

Iolani Gallery's latest exhibit showcases the diversity of digital artwork

Fine artists who have made names for themselves in such traditional media as painting, sculpture, printmaking and photography are slowly venturing into the world of digital art, and as the medium becomes more mainstream, more artists will follow, says one artist and art teacher.

Jan Hathaway, a new media arts teacher at Kapiolani Community College, is among the artists featured in "DASH," an exhibit of digital art showing at Gallery Iolani through Nov. 16.

Hathaway's work includes a virtual 3D piece in which she took pictures of flowers and leaves and then cut them up. She then used a program to move into her pictures like a video camera tracking through a maze. The result is a "media motion graphic" that plays on screen.

"I used to literally cut up things when I did collage, and I like the idea of moving into 3D space," she says of the work.

But does working digitally detract from the experience of creating art?

"It's no different to me personally," Hathaway says. "Digital art takes so much handwork. It doesn't happen by itself. Before, I printed in black and white and then colored by hand. Now, I'm just doing it on the computer. The key is creativity."

Gallery Iolani is located on the Windward Community College campus. Gallery hours are 1 to 5 p.m. Sundays and Tuesdays to Fridays . Call 236-9155.