Iluminace 2020, 32(4):61-73 | DOI: 10.58193/ilu.1685

The Plasmaticity of Digital Surface. CGI (Sur)Realism in Jon Rafman's Dream Journal

Veronika Hanáková
Univerzita Karlova

The theoretical perspective on CGI animation has been closely linked to the advancement of technology that brings the possibility of creating entirely new realities. Synthetic realism or hyperrealism and other terms usually lead to the mimetic abilities of computer-generated images. The mimetic abilities of computer-generated images can be regarded as the prevailing artistic instinct, according to the myth of complete animation. If the current technical possibilities fulfill the promise of a perfect mimesis of a computer-generated image, does it mean a need to rearticulate the question to consider from an unseen perspective the esthetic quality (and its affective potential) of virtual images?
An alternate viewpoint on a digital facade may be proposed in the field of experimental CGI animation. For example, Jon Rafman's Dream Journal (2016-2019) provides a nightmarish universe where the guiding principle seems to depend on virtual imagery's plasmatic possibilities and whose changeability brings up the unstable mud's horror affective force. Therefore, we return to Eisenstein's concept of plasmaticness and more precisely to its characteristic of uncontrollability and unpredictability. A digital image contains a constant presence to reveal its domination by plasmaticity. Flawless virtual surrounding without any noticeable suture, thus creating ubiquitous ooze. Only certain boundaries between objects that are not present are evoked by a virtual environment. The research aims to see affective influence in the materiality of virtual imagery by exploring the digital surface that exceeds its mimetic characteristics.

Keywords: CGI animation, digital cinema, animation studies, realism, Jon Rafman

Published: December 1, 2020  Show citation

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Hanáková, V. (2020). The Plasmaticity of Digital Surface. CGI (Sur)Realism in Jon Rafman's Dream Journal. Iluminace, 32(4), 61-73. doi: 10.58193/ilu.1685
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