Robert Michael Smith 罗伯特·迈克尔·史密斯 Robert Michael Smith has been an active pioneer of digital sculpture, 3D computer visualization/animation, Web design, virtual sculptures for the Web, as well as a significant art and technology educator as Associate Professor of art and technology at New York Institute of Technology Fine Arts Department. Smith is also NYIT Middle East Fine Arts Computer Graphics Coordinator for Global Exchange Programs at Amman, Jordan; Kingdom of Bahrain, and Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Smith’s work has been exhibited worldwide for over thirty years including the acclaimed Digital Stone Exhibition at Beijing Today Art Museum, Shanghai Duolun Museum of Modern Art, Chongqing Jinse Gallery, and Wenzhou ArtMap Gallery. Smith’s sculpture “Paradise Bird Burlesque” is included in the permanent collection of China National Museum of Fine Art at Beijing. Smith has been a guest lecturer at numerous universities, international conferences, and featured in several international articles and books including “Art of the Digital Age,” published by Thames and Hudson. 罗伯特·迈克尔·史密斯 (Robert Michael Smith) 无论是在数字雕塑、三维可视化动画、还是在网页设计、网页虚拟雕 塑领域都是一位积极探索的先行者，同时也是纽约理工大学美术系“艺术与技术专业”的副教授, 以及纽约理工大学中 东美术计算机图形教学全球交换项目在约旦阿曼、巴林王国、阿布扎比 (阿拉伯联合酋长国之一) 协调人。 史密斯的作品在过去的三十年间曾在世界各国进行展览, 其中包括2008年在中国北京今日美术馆, 上海多伦美术馆, 重 庆锦瑟美术馆以及温州万和豪生大酒店画廊的为期半年的“数码石雕展”。史密斯曾在多所大学、国际会议上担任客 座讲师, 并著有多篇具有国际影响力的论文和书籍, 包括在由Bruce Wands主编、Thames & Hudson出版的《数字时代的艺术》(Art of the Digital Age) 中的两篇文——《数字图像》和 (Digital Imaging) 和《数字雕塑》(Digital Sculpture)。 ARTIST STATEMENT: Art is alchemy. Alchemy is the magic, observation, process and ritual of life. My sculptures, both virtual and actual, are conversations regarding the archetypal forms that are the basic structures of nature. I build alien abstract worlds that become familiar through frequent immersion. These worlds are constructed to open exploration to the deepest regions of the human psyche for development within the landscape of the imagination. During the past several years I have worked with Asian artisans to realize in stone, metal, and wood the fantastic forms that I have been developing in Cyberspace since the early 1990s after introduction to the first professional level modeling and animation software application for the PC. This development afforded the quantum aesthetic leap that has impacted my work for the past twenty years by significantly speeding up the dimensional design process while simultaneously allowing me to view evolutionary changes in my forms through time (animation). 艺术家的话： 艺术好比炼金术。它不但需要观察力, 还依赖严谨的流程；同时充满魔幻色彩, 是对生活的顶礼膜拜。我的雕塑作品源 自对于自然界基本形态，也就是原型的观察, 既虚幻又现实。我营造了奇异但能通过探索逐渐变得熟悉的抽象世界。这 些抽象世界旨在激发想像, 开启对于人类最深层心理的探索。 “数码石雕”理念以融合CAD技术和传统石雕技艺为基础。所有参展雕塑作品最初都是利用软件程序, 在虚拟空间中设 计开发的。之后, 物理模型通过快速样机设备打印出来。样机设备是计算机的扩展外设, 是将作品从“虚拟”转化成“ 现实”的“巧手”。 在过去的3年中, 我一直在与亚洲的雕刻工匠合作, 把我以前用电脑软件创作的虚拟作品用木头、石头或者金属表现出 来。自上个世纪90年代以来, 我一直在虚拟空间中进行艺术创作。数码技术上的发展成就了我在艺术上的巨大飞跃, 它 能加速立体设计流程, 同时还允许我随时查看雕塑造型的演进调整 (仿真), 这些都为我过去15年的工作提供了有力支 持。