Colored Clay: A Raster Relic, Digital Fossil
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This work is one of my earliest topographic works—assembled in 1996 using a montage of vector shapes with solid and textured fills, then beveled, embossed, and refined in Photoshop. It wasn’t created to be a texture, but as a standalone work of art. Still, it has served as a foundational source for several textures over the years.
The aesthetic intention was to evoke the feel of a photographic reproduction of a topographic sculpture in clay or similar materials—while still clearly signaling its digital origin. It’s a deliberate digital pastiche, blending aspects of plastic art with exaggerated solid colors and textures.
Its interplay of green, purple, and red hues evokes a sense of organic complexity, reminiscent of geological strata or eroded surfaces, and this was one of the desired artistic effects. The textures suggest both depth and decay, although they are used as pure abstractions.
This piece marks the beginning of my “mineral studies”—a raster continuation of my long-running “crystal studies” in vector graphics.
The image is layered with what I call “gravel material”: fragments from other vector images, including landscapes, portraits, fishes, and even one poor innocent and as innocently deboned vector mermaid. These embedded elements aren’t just decorative—they’re part of a method I’ve used ever since, ensuring that even the smallest details carry authenticity and narrative weight.
Colored Clay is also a manifesto against synthetic perfection. It’s hand-and-mouse made, using basic tools and editors, and stands in contrast to the kitsch tendencies of AI-generated art. Where AI may impress with impossible precision, this work insists on human presence, imperfection, and intention. It’s part of my broader SDL InnerSpace project—a postmodern study in digital neolithic techniques, where trash becomes treasure and pastiche becomes philosophy.
