Dominique Moulon (born 1962) is a

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...

of art and technology, art critic and curator, specializing in French

digital art Digital art refers to any artistic work or practice that uses digital technology as part of the creative or presentation process, or more specifically computational art that uses and engages with digital media. Since the 1960s, various names ...

. He is the author of the books ''Art contemporain nouveaux médias'' and ''Art Beyond Digital''.

Background

Dominique Moulon began his activities as an

art historian Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today ...

new media art New media art includes artworks designed and produced by means of new media, electronic media technology, technologies, comprising virtual art, computer graphics, computer animation, digital art, interactive art, sound art, Internet art, video g ...

and

computer art Computer art is any art in which computers play a role in production or display of the artwork. Such art can be an image, sound, animation, video, CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, video game, website, algorithm, performance or gallery installation. Many traditi ...

by obtaining a Diplôme National Supérieur d’Expression Plastique in 1987 from the Ecole Nationale Supérieure d’Art in

Bourges Bourges () is a commune in central France on the river Yèvre. It is the capital of the department of Cher, and also was the capital city of the former province of Berry. History The name of the commune derives either from the Bituriges, t ...

France. In 1993 he obtained a Diplôme d’Etudes Approfondies en esthétique, sciences et technologies des arts from the

University of Paris VIII Paris 8 University Vincennes-Saint-Denis (french: Université Paris 8 Vincennes-Saint-Denis) is a public university in Paris, France. Once part of the historic University of Paris, it is now an autonomous public institution. It is one of the th ...

. He obtained a PhD in Arts and sciences of the art from the

University of Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

in 2017. In 2002 he completed an extensive research project called ''Outils et Création Numérique'', which in detail conveyed the techniques computer artists were using in France. He paid close attention to

interactivity Across the many fields concerned with interactivity, including information science, computer science, human-computer interaction, communication, and industrial design, there is little agreement over the meaning of the term "interactivity", but m ...

and developed a

philosophical Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

investigation of the real and the virtual, and its multisensory nature by stressing an

aesthetics Aesthetics, or esthetics, is a branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of beauty and taste, as well as the philosophy of art (its own area of philosophy that comes out of aesthetics). It examines aesthetic values, often expressed thr ...

technology Technology is the application of knowledge to reach practical goals in a specifiable and reproducible way. The word ''technology'' may also mean the product of such an endeavor. The use of technology is widely prevalent in medicine, science, ...

. This work was conducted for the Recherche et Innovation department of the Délégation aux Arts Plastiques of the Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication. Here Moulon began his work documenting the historical record of the relationship between technology and

digital Digital usually refers to something using discrete digits, often binary digits. Technology and computing Hardware *Digital electronics, electronic circuits which operate using digital signals **Digital camera, which captures and stores digital i ...

forms of art, extending the historic work of

Frank Popper Frank Popper (17 April 1918 – 12 July 2020) was a Czech-born French-British historian of art and technology and Professor Emeritus of Aesthetics and the Science of Art at the University of Paris VIII. He was decorated with the medal of the Lé ...

Jack Burnham Jack Wesley Burnham Jr. (born New York City, November 13, 1931 - February 25, 2019) was an American writer and theorist of art and technology, who taught art history at Northwestern University and the University of Maryland. He is one of the mai ...

and

Gene Youngblood Gene Youngblood (May 30, 1942 – April 6, 2021) was an American theorist of media arts and politics, and a respected scholar in the history and theory of alternative cinemas. His best-known book, ''Expanded Cinema'', was the first to consider vi ...

. Key to his initial thinking and activities as an aesthetician, cultural theorist,

curator A curator (from la, cura, meaning "to take care") is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the parti ...

, teacher, and

art critic An art critic is a person who is specialized in analyzing, interpreting, and evaluating art. Their written critiques or reviews contribute to art criticism and they are published in newspapers, magazines, books, exhibition brochures, and catalogue ...

was his encounter with the work of

Pierre Restany Pierre Restany (24 June 1930 – 29 May 2003), was an internationally known French art critic and cultural philosopher. Restany was born in Amélie-les-Bains-Palalda, Pyrénées-Orientales, and spent his childhood in Casablanca. On returning ...

, Jean-Louis Boissier,

Roy Ascott Roy Ascott FRSA (born 26 October 1934) is a British artist, who works with cybernetics and telematics on an art he calls technoetic by focusing on the impact of digital and telecommunications networks on consciousness. Since the 1960s, Ascott ...

Edmond Couchot Edmond Couchot (16 August 1932 – 26 December 2020) was a French digital artist and art theoretician who taught at the University Paris VIII. Life and work Couchot was a Doctor of aesthetics in the visual arts. From 1982-2000 he headed the depar ...

Christine Buci-Glucksmann Christine Buci-Glucksmann is a French philosopher and Professor Emeritus from University of Paris VIII specializing in the aesthetics of the Baroque and Japan, and computer art. Her best-known work in English is ''Baroque Reason: The Aesthetics of ...

and

Fred Forest Fred Forest (born July 6, 1933 in Mascara, French Algeria) is a French new media artist making use of video, photography, the printed press, mail, radio, television, telephone, telematics, and the internet in a wide range of installations, perform ...

. Working with the Délégation au Développement et aux Affaires Internationales, in 2004 he created a website to share his research at nouveauxmedias.net. In 2008 he initiated the English version of this website on newmediaart.eu. He also created mediaartdesign.net in 2011 and artinthedigitalage.net in 2018 to continue sharing his research on the relationship between art, technology and society. He was responsible for the digital art section of the French paper magazine "Images Magazine" from 2003 to 2010 and has contributed to the French Magazine “ Art press” since 2013. He taught at the

Parsons School of Design Parsons School of Design, known colloquially as Parsons, is a private art and design college located in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City. Founded in 1896 after a group of progressive artists broke away from established Manhatt ...

in Paris from 2014 to 2021 and has been was a regular visiting instructor since 2007 at the

School of the Art Institute of Chicago The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) is a private art school associated with the Art Institute of Chicago (AIC) in Chicago, Illinois. Tracing its history to an art students' cooperative founded in 1866, which grew into the museum and ...

. He has also curated exhibitions, such as ''L'art et le numérique en résonance'' at the art center of Mason Populaire in Montreuil, France, ''Zero Autonomy'' at Cité International des Art in Paris, ''Human Learning'' at the Canadian Cultural Center in Paris, by focusing on the using of digital in art to highlight societal issues.

Publications

* ''Masterpieces of the 21st Century'', 2021, Art in the Digital Age, 224 pages, ISBN 979-8-547-78536-8. * ''Japan, Art and Innovation'' in ''Transphere 2016 - 2020'', (exhibition catalog), Japan Foundation, Tokyo, 2021, p. 48-49, ISBN 978-4-87540-183-4. *''Art, Technology and Trends'', in ''ats@50: Art and Technology Studies; 1969-2019'',

Eduardo Kac Eduardo Kac �dwardoʊ kæts; ĕd·wâr′·dō kăts(1962) is a contemporary artist of dual nationality (American and Brazilian) whose artworks span a wide range of practices, including performance art, poetry, holography, interactive art, digital ...

(edited by), School of the Art Institute, Chicago, 2019, p. 40-47, ISBN 978-0-578-51202-0. *''Capturing the invisible'', in ''Mathilde Lavenne'' (exhibition catalog), Casa de Velázquez, Madrid, 2019, p. 2-3. *Moulon, Dominique, ''Art Beyond Digital'', Link Editions, Brescia 2018. Paperback, 352 pages, . *''On Combinations at Work'', in ''Pascal Dombis'' (monograph), Supernova, Paris, 2018, p. 115-119, ISBN 978-2-490353-00-2. *''Exhibiting the Museum: The Hybrid Spaces of Workspace Unlimited'', in ''Practicable: From Participation to Interaction in Contemporary Art'', Samuel Bianchini & Erik Verhagen (edited by), The MIT Press, Leonardo Book Series, Cambridge, 2016, p. 543-549, ISBN 9780262034753. *Moulon, Dominique. ''Art et numérique en résonance'', Nouvelles éditions Scala, 2015, French, 158 pages, ISBN 978-2-35988-156-1. *''Conversation'', in ''

Bill Vorn Bill Vorn (born 1959) is a Canadian artist, musician and professor known for his robotic artworks. Vorn was also a member of the band Rational Youth from 1981 to 1983. Life Vorn was born Yves Bilodeau in 1959 in Montreal, Quebec. In 1981, Vorn ...

and his hysterical machines: robotic art and culture'', Ryszard W. Kluszczyński (Edited by), CCA Laznia, Gdansk, 2014, p. 52-73, ISBN 978-83-61646-05-1. * Moulon, Dominique, Timothy Murray, Derrick de Kerckhove,

Oliver Grau Oliver Grau (born 24 October 1965) is a German art historian and media theoretician with a focus on image science, modernity and media art as well as culture of the 19th century and Italian art of the Renaissance. Main Areas of Research are: Dig ...

, Kristine Stiles, Jean-Baptiste Barrière, Jean-Pierre Balpe, ''

Maurice Benayoun Maurice Benayoun (aka MoBen or 莫奔) (born 29 March 1957) is a French new-media artist, curator, and theorist based in Paris and Hong Kong. His work employs various media, including video, computer graphics, immersive virtual reality, the In ...

Open Art'', Nouvelles éditions Scala, 2011, French, 196 pages, . *''Fifty questions for

'', in ''Life, Light & Language (exhibition catalog)'', Centre des Arts, Enghien-les-Bains, 2011, p.10-84, ISBN 978-2-916639-17-8. * Moulon, Dominique. ''Art contemporain nouveaux médias'', Nouvelles éditions Scala Collection: Sentiers d'Art, 2011, French, 128 pages, .

Conférences on Art & Technology

*''Imagination versus Reality'', Bozar, Brussels, Belgium, 2022. *''Reality versus Imagination'', Bozar, Brussels, Belgium, 2022. *''Interconnections between Visual Art, Digital Art and NFTs'', with Frederic Laffy, Masha Maskina, Albertine Meunier and Pau Waelder, CADAF, Online, 2021. *''Future potential of Virtual Reality'', with Tina Sauerländer, Jay Kim and Olivier Fontenay, Symposium ''Making Lemonade'', Online, 2021. *''Photography, computation & globalization'', Theme Academic Forum, Photo Beijing, Online, 2020. *T''he art of acting somewhere else'', Symposium ''Adventures of Identity: From the Double to the Avatar'', Institut d'Etudes Avancées,

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, France, 2018. *''Machines, Intelligence and Creativity'', Institute of Science and Technology for Humanity, Nanyang Technological University,

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

, 2018. *''Creation and Contemporary Art: Digital art does not exist!'', International Digital Arts Market, Phi Centre,

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

, Canada, 2018. *''Coefficient of Digital'', International Symposium on Electronic Art (ISEA),

Manizales Manizales () is a city in central Colombia. It is the capital of the Caldas Department, Department of Caldas, and lies near the Nevado del Ruiz volcano. Currently, the city is the main center for the production of Colombian coffee and an importa ...

, Colombia, 2017. *''Digital Coefficient'', International Symposium on Electronic Art (ISEA),

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

, Canada, 2015. *''Digital as Contemporary Art'', Media Art Futures Conference, Centro Párraga,

Murcia Murcia (, , ) is a city in south-eastern Spain, the capital and most populous city of the autonomous community of the Region of Murcia, and the seventh largest city in the country. It has a population of 460,349 inhabitants in 2021 (about one ...

, Spain, 2015. *''Digital practices of contemporary art'', Interface Culture, University of Arts,

Linz Linz ( , ; cs, Linec) is the capital of Upper Austria and third-largest city in Austria. In the north of the country, it is on the Danube south of the Czech border. In 2018, the population was 204,846. In 2009, it was a European Capital of ...

, Austria, 2014. *''De la ville comme atelier pour un art de relations'', ''Lumières de la ville'', 5e Biennale Internationale Toronto Montréal Lille, laboratoire Hexagram CIAM, Université du Québec à

, Canada, 2013. *''Art, Science Technology and Society'', Cumulus Conference, Aalto University,

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

, Finland, 2012. *''Art, lumière et langages'', Syncretic Transcodings, Laboratoire Hexagram CIAM, Université du Québec à

, Canada, 2012. *Forum des usages coopératifs, Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Télécommunications, Brest 2008. *Art, médias, dispositifs, Le Fresnoy, Studio national des arts contemporains, Tourcoing 2008. *The Upgrade @ Mal au Pixel, avec les membres du collectif HeHE,

2008. *Art, médias et dispositifs, Locus Sonus, Villa Arson, Nice 2008. *Arts numériques & nouveaux médias, Le Fresnoy, Studio national des arts contemporains, Tourcoing 2007. *The Upgrade @ Seconde Nature, avec les membres du laboratoire Locus Sonus,

Aix-en-Provence Aix-en-Provence (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Ais de Provença in classical norm, or in Mistralian norm, ; la, Aquae Sextiae), or simply Aix ( medieval Occitan: ''Aics''), is a city and commune in southern France, about north of Marseille. ...

2007. *Jeudi Multimédia, Médiathèque Assia Djebar, Blanquefort 2007. *

Digital Art Digital art refers to any artistic work or practice that uses digital technology as part of the creative or presentation process, or more specifically computational art that uses and engages with digital media. Since the 1960s, various names ...

in Europe Now,

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

2007. *The Upgrade, avec les membres du collectif CHDH, Point Ephémère, Paris 2007. *Les pratiques du numérique dans la création artistique, Pôle de Ressources Arts Plastiques,

Rennes Rennes (; br, Roazhon ; Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France at the confluence of the Ille and the Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine department ...

2007. *Marché International des Arts Numériques, Festival Elektra, Cinémathèque québécoise,

Montréal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-p ...

2007. *Media Art in France, Département Intermedia, Académie des Beaux-Arts de Hongris,

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

2007. *The Upgrade, avec

, Galerie Numeriscausa,

2006. *Les Arts Médiatiques en France, Manifestation d'Art Contemporain, Paris 2006. *Art, Science, Technologie et Société, Le Fresnoy, Studio national des arts contemporains, Tourcoing 2006. *The Upgrade, avec Antoine Schmitt, Ars Longa, Paris 2006. *Le numérique et l'acte photographique aujourd'hui, Rencontres Internationales de la Photographie,

Arles Arles (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Arle ; Classical la, Arelate) is a coastal city and commune in the South of France, a subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, in the former province of ...

2006. *Forum des usages coopératifs, Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Télécommunications, Brest 2006. *New Media Art in France, an overview,

School of Visual Arts The School of Visual Arts New York City (SVA NYC) is a private for-profit art school in New York City. It was founded in 1947 and is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design. History This school was started by ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

2006. *New Media Art in France, an overview, Art Institute,

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

2006. *Ecrits Ecrans Publics, Les expressions multimédia dans la ville, Le Quartz, Brest 2006. *Arts et technologies, Espace Culture Multimédia La Maison Populaire, Montreuil 2005. *Arts, sciences et technologies, ECM / Cyber-base du Carré Amelot, La Rochelle 2005. *Les Imagies - Nouvelles images, nouvelles pratiques, CNDP - CRDP,

Montpellier Montpellier (, , ; oc, Montpelhièr ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of ...

2005. *Rencontres Internationales de Lure, Lurs 2005. *Rencontres Espace Culture Multimédia, Friche la Belle de Mai,

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

2005. *Les nouveaux médias dans l'art, Ecole de Communication Visuelle,

2005. *Digital art in France,

2005. *Les arts numériques en France, Ecole Supérieure des Arts et Techniques, Paris 2005. *La forge des outils numériques, Ecole Supérieure de l'Image, Poitiers 2003. *Et voilà le travail - Image par image, Montreuil 2003. *Espaces publics : quels lieux communs, Ferme du Buisson, Noisiel 2001. *La photographie après la photographie, exposition Biozones, Forum Culturel de Blanc-Mesnil 2001.

Jury References

*Aide à la Création Multimédia Expérimentale, Acadi, Paris 2008. *Ecole de Communication Visuelle, Section Nouvelles Images,

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...

2008. *Aide à la Création Multimédia Expérimentale, Acadi, Paris 2008. *Thèse "Impressions visuelles de l’art à la science" de Sylvie Huart, ATI, Université Paris VIII 2008. *Aide à la Création Multimédia Expérimentale, Acadi, Paris 2007. *Aide à la Création Multimédia Expérimentale, Acadi, Paris 2006. *Diplôme de Communication Visuelle, Ecole Supérieure des Arts et Techniques, Paris 2005. *Diplôme de Concepteur en Communication Visuelle, Ecole de Communication Visuelle,

2001.

External links

Website of Dominique Moulon

Articles by Dominique Moulon on "Art in the Digital Age"

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moulon, Dominique French art historians French art curators 1962 births Living people Cultural historians French art critics Postmodernists French male writers