Is calligraphy being replaced by the computer just like digital cameras replaced analogue film?
Inkscape software is possibly the most sophisticated at producing calligraphy strokes with a stylist, rather than a traditional pen and ink. And with Inkscape you can make adjustments to pen width, angle, pressure etc to create calligraphy.
I still perform calligraphy using pen and ink, rather than a tablet. I post process my hand done art by scanning my works and finishing them using GIMP and Inkscape, (popular graphics software packages).
I was watching developments in this area of human user interfaces, and I was highly impressed with some recent work out of Microsoft labs. Watch a video of the Project Gustav work over at Channel9 http://channel9.msdn.com/posts/NicFill/An-Extended-Look-at-Project-Gustav-Immersive-Digital-Painting/ -- a touch based natural user interface that Microsoft is developing to interface with the next generation of high end art applications.
I am hoping they will create a calligraphy pen that digitally acts as a real calligraphy pen while managing: angle, slant, pressure, ink flow, ink opacity, speed, paper texture, edge weight/balance, etc... I would love to even beta test that or be a part of that development process.
Calligraphy seems so simple, yet must be incredibly complex to develop software to replicate the fine art perfectly. I had a high school art teacher back in the late 1980s who once told me that computers would never replace art or fine art. While I understood and respected her point, I think in my lifetime computers will be able to provide a natural user interface that emulates the creation of fine art and will be respected by the top percentage of fine artists on this planet, even though they may still choose to use the traditional medium. Breakthroughs in the area of natural user interface, touch devices and output devices will achieve this in time.
Some of the drawbacks are that we are lacking greatly in the area of output devices. How you do you print a painting in 3D showing the subtle variations in paint thickness? How do you show this same painting on a webpage through a computer monitor or handheld device? How do you replicate the smell of a museum through your iPad or tablet? While the natural UI is advancing other areas should keep pace and they are falling behind.
And the main drawback is a drastic change to the art process itself. There is something to be said about getting your hands messy when creating art, smelling the paint, smudging the charcoal, seeing the imperfections, the fear of making a mess, experimenting with different papers or inks. This is all part of the experience that I like and enjoy. I know that in the world of photography, many top photographers completely resisted digital photography as an alternative, possibly for the similar reasons.
I wonder if there will be a day when it is difficult to buy a paint brush or a calligraphy pen just like its hard to buy analogue film today? What are your thoughts?
By: Steve Czajka
Blog Contributor
http://steveczajka.posterous.com
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