Artists and the Blurring Line Between Real and Virtual

The article explores how artists, particularly those from graffiti culture, have engaged with the merging of real and virtual realities since the 1990s. It references key figures like Jobe Smith from 'The Lawnmower Man' (1992), Tom Sanders from 'Disclosure' (1994), and Johnny Mnemonic (1995) as examples of how the two realities were once perceived as separate but parallel. The text highlights the work of Jürg Lehni and engineer Uli Franke, who in 2002 created Hektor, a portable device that produces spray-paint drawings from software instructions, challenging authorship in graffiti. It also notes the influence of anime like Gundam, Akira, and Neon Genesis Evangelion on graffiti artists such as DAIM and V3rbo, who incorporate computational and digital aesthetics into their lettering. The article argues that graffiti artists, accustomed to integrating urban and pop culture elements, are naturally inclined to experiment with video, live media, and design. The piece is published in Artribune Magazine #48 and written by a critic and independent curator specializing in visual art, language, communication, urban art, and new technologies.