Denver Digerati brings digital artist to LCCC

Sep. 21—Digital artists deserve some love, too.

Laramie County Community College is here to show that love.

Denver Digerati, a nonprofit art organization that supports and promotes digital animators and motion artists with exposure and content curation, is making an appearance at the community college this month with a free display from one of its premier artists.

One of the primary goals of the organization is to remind artists that there's a very real career path available for those pursuing the digital arts.

"We're the only ones (focusing on digital art) in the state of Colorado. It's been a really hard, uphill battle to get press to pay attention to the project. And there's so much going on," said Sharifa Moore, executive director and curator of Digerati. "I think that (Digerati) is a way to keep an arts practice while also having a real job connection that I think is really important.

"I think that our work is crucial to the community and providing opportunities for people to get their feet wet and try them out and to learn a little bit."

Emerging artists from around the world have made their name at Digerati's annual Emergent Media Festival, the most recent of which wrapped up on Sunday. A handful of the best films from this year's event will be screened in the Surbrugg/Prentice Auditorium on Oct. 4, when Moore visits the college.

Moore's visit with LCCC students will focus on a topic crucial to her own personal goal, as well as the overlying intent of Digerati.

"I like to talk about free experimentation and not being tied to a single medium," she said.

This means incorporating different disciplines, or being versed in diverse technology to better market their work. There's plenty of opportunity for experimentation, considering that "digital art" encompasses everything from augmented reality, motion capture and digital animation to still art.

"I feel as though any arts practice is about the expression of ideas and not necessarily about sticking to one avenue to explore those ideas," Moore continued. "I also think that there's a big conversation on whether you're going to include tech in your work, understanding audience and ways that you have to market yourself."

Residents can get a first-hand look at one of the more unique artists associated with Digerati, Raquel Meyers, by visiting the Esther and John Clay Fine Art Gallery on the LCCC campus through Oct. 24.

Meyers is the first live/work artist for Digerati, becoming acquainted with Moore in 2017, and now living with the organization's director after making the move from her native Spain. Through multiple community connections, Moore has been able to provide financial compensation for Meyers to keep her sustained as she practices her style in Colorado's capital.

Meyers works in an 8-bit animation style, inspired by side-scrolling games found on systems like Commodore 64, Atari and other arcade systems. In one of her series, "Inattention," she employs the actual computer programs used to create such 8-bit montages found on original game systems, fusing it with "contemporary programs like Adobe's Flash."

"Meyers' works demonstrate a sustained attraction to outmoded forms of technology and questions how these technological aesthetics can still play an important role in contemporary experimental digital animation alongside newer and more technically advanced models," her artist's statement reads.

Though the artist could not be reached for comment at the time of this article, Moore emphasized the importance of Meyers' presence at Digerati, sharing that the themes and practices the artist explores in her work are right in line with the goals of the organization.

"The intersections of play and experimentation and trying different things," Moore said. "From her perspective, we are overproducing and creating so much junk that utilizing what we already have at our disposal is not only more affordable, but it also engages with this practice of acknowledging what we have already, rather than constant consumption and the creation of the new. Which, I think, is really fascinating about her work and her practice."

It's not often that digital artists get a platform to show their work, so Moore's upcoming presentation will be a unique opportunity to see animated motion art that is inaccessible online for one reason or another. One of the films, for example, cannot be distributed yet because of its recent inclusion in the Sundance Film Festival.

"Often, the filmmakers will show with us, and then you'll kind of see them launch, which is really exciting," she said. "I always love to show those films. You'll see them doing more coming up, and that's really exciting. Those will be the films that I'll be sharing."

Will Carpenter is the Wyoming Tribune Eagle's Arts and Entertainment/Features Reporter. He can be reached by email at wcarpenter@wyomingnews.com or by phone at 307-633-3135. Follow him on Twitter @will_carp_.