The quote communicates to me straight away that its the journey involved in creating a piece of analogue art work that is so appealing to people, you never know how its going to turn out. I believe it fits into the theme of technology as in the developing world, particularly in fields such as illustration, technology is fast becoming something that is at all of our fingertips. If we wanted, we could now use software to create what only years ago we would have to collage or draw by hand. With new technologies related to the arts being created every month, we have the choice whether or not to jump on the band wagon. Where we can more or less collectively agree that advances in medical technology have benefitted everyone, could we see the same change for the arts? The key terms here are alchemy, unpredictable and alluring, it might also be worth looking up technology.
Alchemy means a seemingly magical process of transformation, creation, or combination. Which I think perfectly describes using only analogue processes to make art, it is a special process in which the creator is involved directly with every step. As there can never really be any major pre-planning of analogue art as there can be with digital the end result is usually at least a little different to what you'd expect which makes the process more of a journey. Unpredictable actually just can be defined as not predictable, but if we were to relate this specifically to art I would say also that unpredictability in work can sometimes mean it seems more organic and authentic. It also suggests to me uniqueness which is a valuable skill in art, no one wants to have the same work as someone else. However, these qualities seem to either set you apart from the rest and make work more sellable, or do the opposite and mean people struggle to identify with the work.
Alluring means powerfully and mysteriously attractive or fascinating or seductive. I agree that analogue methods of creating can be really interesting and much more engaging than maybe the routine of computerised work, but firstly, I would question if there isn't the same attraction about digital work. Especially if you still aren't fully aware of how these processes work then the experimentation involved with experimenting on different bits of software I'm sure can be just as rewarding and exciting. Secondly, I can see how if you wanted to make really experimental and varied work then analogue media would be ideal, but what if you wanted to create some more intricate, uniform work? Its also worth noting that this quote is from 2009, when maybe people were less enthusiastic and accepting of new technologies. However, these things are more commonplace in the arts now and digital art is a valid and accepted art form in its own right.
For instance this image below is by Igor Scekic a digital artist from Zagreb. For me this is no less thought out than any analogue process and I'm sure it was still a fascinating process to watch it develop and unfold. Its not just about the final method of production of an image either as although this was created on photoshop, I'm sure there must have been some detailed and thoughtful sketches and designs that came before this. If you can argue that something like photo shop isn't a skill and is impersonal, surely you can say the same for screen printing?
Also if you look at Rob Ryans paper cut works, although he cuts most of them by hand, he has also said that he uses some photoshop methods to add in shadows and to edit them slightly. This being said, that doesn't make his work any less beautiful or the methods behind it less exhaustive. Sometimes non-analogue methods can be used to fine time analogue work.
In conclusion although I do agree that there is something particularly cathartic about producing the majority of your work by hand, there is some instances where non analogue methods are necessary such as during mass production, or simply if the process will look better for it. I believe it does nothing to take away from the value of analogue work when digital methods are being used and they are on offer to us so why not use them?
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