當藝術隨著科技的進步,將創作的議題涉及到虛擬與現實間的關係時,「化身(Avatar)」的概念就一再的被數位藝術家所探討。從布希亞 (Jean Baudrillard)「擬像的超真實主義」到威廉•吉布森 (William Gibson)「虛擬空間 (Cyberspace)」的想像,都提及了虛擬世界與真實世界之間錯綜複雜的觀看方式,當然也論述了人類在虛擬世界之中的存在方式以及存在的特徵。在虛擬的世界裡,「化身」這樣的概念是一種將實體加以數位化、虛擬化、影像化的狀態,大多代表著使用者的一個或多個虛擬存在。然而,對中國民俗信仰而言,化身除了具有數位化、虛擬化的概念之外,更包含著一種由中國民間信仰與風俗所醞釀出的獨特意涵。 《擬像•擬相》、《紙•慾望化身》是本論文所提出的兩件作品,分別從中國面相學,以及民間焚燒紙紮物品的習俗為符號素材,探討本文作者對於時下社會人心和慾望的深刻觀察。此外亦利用程式設計、互動技術、影像拼貼、3D動畫與影像合成…等技術,將中國民俗文化的抽象信仰、習俗,作一具體化的呈現,也試圖透過作品中不同影像彼此之間的矛盾和對照,傳達出「化身」對於東方藝術家的獨特文化性和在地性。 兩件作品除了傳達作者本身對於慾望的概念表現之外,更企圖在科技藝術與中國民俗文化之間,作一實驗性的連結。作者試圖從東方的傳統文化中吸取營養,以科技藝術的特徵和精神為輔助,探討關於中國民俗信仰的題材,並結合科技藝術作品和觀眾互動、參與的特徵,試圖為東方的傳統文化開展一種當代的表現可能。
The concept of an "avatar" has become important to digital artists and philosophers. Writers such as Jean Baudrillard and William Gibson have provided complex ways of treating interactions between real and virtual worlds. An avatar allows a human to project himself into a virtual world through an image. Indeed, a single human can be represented by multiple avatars simultaneously. Here, I associate the concept of an avatar with special meaning from Chinese folklore and traditional belief systems. Two artworks are discussed: "Face/Fate" and "Avatar." These works meditate on desire in contemporary society, using symbols from Chinese facial features and the Chinese folk tradition of burning paper objects -- which I call "Chinese. My paper discusses software, interactive technology, montage, 3D animation, and image formatting in support of this art. I argue through digital images that the "avatar" is of special importance to Eastern artists. These two artworks also are an experiment in combining technology art and Chinese folklore. They aim to present the spirit of the Chinese tradition of burning symbolic paper objects. This involves exposition about Chinese belief systems and viewer interaction. This allows a novel presentation these Eastern "convectional" traditions through an interaction of technology and art.