Mobile ArtCon Kicks Off in New York

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A fingerpainting of the New York skyline by Benjamin Rabe. Courtesy iAMDA.

Artists who have traded canvases for touch screens and brushes for the Brushes app will meet up at a Digital Art Conference in New York City this weekend.

The iAMDA (International Association of Mobile Digital  Artists) has organized its first ever MobileArtCon taking place at the New York University’s Interactive Telecommunications Program (ITP), October 23-24.

Cult of Mac talked with artist and organizer Matthew Watkins — whom we featured when his iPhone art was the first to hang at an Apple reseller — about what to expect from this weekend meeting of digital artists.

"Healing Touch" by Mia Robinson. Courtesy iAMDA.

Cult of Mac: How many people are you expecting?

Matthew Watkins: We anticipate an attendance of over 200 international artists.

CoM: What’s the keynote going to be about?

MW: The MobileArtCon keynote will be focused on how we got here and with due introspection on where we are going.

Aside from its value as an a creative medium, we will be looking at the social aspect of mobile digital art.

It is remarkable that despite never having met outside of social media, this diverse group of artists from around the world has formed a solid community based on common artistic and technological interests.

CoM: Who’s behind the conference?

MW: We’ve drawn on a small but dedicated team of techno-artists with a diverse set of skills to work together and make our dreams a reality in less than six months.

We are artists from a variety of backgrounds [fine art,  illustration, design, digital, film & sound], developers and academics.

Sessions will focus on technique, technical developments and theoretical discussions of mobile digital media in an art historical context.

CoM: What else is planned, group fingerpainting?

MW: There will be hands-on and interactive workshops including a Master Class demo
by noted New York figurative painter David Kassan plus outside activities including a private artists’ reception on October 22nd, plein-air painting sessions throughout the city and a large scale group exhibition called “Illuminated Touch,” featuring art generated by attending artists on October 24th. If you’re in Manhattan, the exhibit is open to the public from 7pm-10pm at Openhouse Gallery.

Check back with Cult of Mac — we plan to bring you updates on the MobileArtCon happenings and views of the art.

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