Dominique Moulon (born 1962) is a

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...

of art and technology, art critic and curator, specializing in French

digital art Digital art, or the digital arts, is artistic work that uses Digital electronics, digital technology as part of the creative or presentational process. It can also refer to computational art that uses and engages with digital media. Since the 1960 ...

. He is the author of the books ''Art contemporain nouveaux médias'' and ''Art Beyond Digital''.

Background

Dominique Moulon began his activities as an

art historian Art history is the study of artistic works made throughout human history. Among other topics, it studies art’s formal qualities, its impact on societies and cultures, and how artistic styles have changed throughout history. Traditionally, the ...

new media art New media art includes artworks designed and produced by means of new media, electronic media technologies. It comprises virtual art, computer graphics, computer animation, digital art, interactive art, sound art, Internet art, video games, robo ...

and

computer art Computer art is art in which computers play a role in the production or display of the artwork. Such art can be an image, sound, animation, video, CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, video game, website, algorithm, performance or gallery installation. Many traditio ...

by obtaining a Diplôme National Supérieur d’Expression Plastique in 1987 from the Ecole Nationale Supérieure d’Art in

Bourges Bourges ( ; ; ''Borges'' in Berrichon) is a commune in central France on the river Yèvre (Cher), Yèvre. It is the capital of the Departments of France, department of Cher (department), Cher, and also was the capital city of the former provin ...

France. In 1993 he obtained a Diplôme d’Etudes Approfondies en esthétique, sciences et technologies des arts from the

University of Paris VIII Paris 8 University (), or usually the University of Vincennes in Saint-Denis or Paris 8, is a public university in the Paris Metropolitan Area, Greater Paris, France. Once part of the historic University of Paris, it is now an autonomous public ...

. He obtained a PhD in Arts and sciences of the art from the

University of Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

in 2017. In 2002 he completed an extensive research project called ''Outils et Création Numérique'', which in detail conveyed the techniques computer artists were using in France. He paid close attention to

interactivity Across the many fields concerned with interactivity, including information science, computer science, human-computer interaction, communication, and industrial design, there is little agreement over the meaning of the term "interactivity", but ...

and developed a

philosophical Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

investigation of the real and the virtual, and its multisensory nature by stressing an

aesthetics Aesthetics (also spelled esthetics) is the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature of beauty and taste (sociology), taste, which in a broad sense incorporates the philosophy of art.Slater, B. H.Aesthetics ''Internet Encyclopedia of Ph ...

technology Technology is the application of Conceptual model, conceptual knowledge to achieve practical goals, especially in a reproducible way. The word ''technology'' can also mean the products resulting from such efforts, including both tangible too ...

. This work was conducted for the Recherche et Innovation department of the Délégation aux Arts Plastiques of the Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication. Here Moulon began his work documenting the historical record of the relationship between technology and

digital Digital usually refers to something using discrete digits, often binary digits. Businesses *Digital bank, a form of financial institution *Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) or Digital, a computer company *Digital Research (DR or DRI), a software ...

forms of art, extending the historic work of Frank Popper, Jack Burnham and

Gene Youngblood Gene Youngblood (May 30, 1942 – April 6, 2021) was an American theorist of media arts and politics, and a respected scholar in the history and theory of alternative cinemas. His best-known book, '' Expanded Cinema'', was the first to consider ...

. Key to his initial thinking and activities as an aesthetician, cultural theorist,

curator A curator (from , meaning 'to take care') is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the particular ins ...

, teacher, and

art critic An art critic is a person who is specialized in analyzing, interpreting, and evaluating art. Their written critiques or reviews contribute to art criticism and they are published in newspapers, magazines, books, exhibition brochures, and catalogue ...

was his encounter with the work of

Pierre Restany Pierre Restany (22 June 1930 – 29 May 2003), was an internationally known French art critic and cultural philosopher. Restany was born in Amélie-les-Bains-Palalda, Pyrénées-Orientales, and spent his childhood in Casablanca. On returning ...

, Jean-Louis Boissier,

Roy Ascott Roy Ascott FRSA (born 26 October 1934) is a British artist, who works with cybernetics and telematics on an art he calls technoetics by focusing on the impact of digital and telecommunications networks on consciousness. Since the 1960s, Ascott ...

, Edmond Couchot,

Christine Buci-Glucksmann Christine Buci-Glucksmann is a French philosopher and Professor Emeritus from University of Paris VIII specializing in the aesthetics of the Baroque and Japan, and computer art. Her best-known work in English is ''Baroque Reason: The Aesthetics of ...

and Fred Forest. Working with the Délégation au Développement et aux Affaires Internationales, in 2004 he created a website to share his research at nouveauxmedias.net. In 2008 he initiated the English version of this website on newmediaart.eu. He also created mediaartdesign.net in 2011 and artinthedigitalage.net in 2018 to continue sharing his research on the relationship between art, technology and society. He was responsible for the digital art section of the French paper magazine "Images Magazine" from 2003 to 2010 and has contributed to the French Magazine “

Art press ''art press'' is a monthly international review of contemporary art Contemporary art is a term used to describe the art of today, generally referring to art produced from the 1970s onwards. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, ...

” since 2013. He taught at the

Parsons School of Design The Parsons School of Design is a private art and design college under The New School located in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City. Founded in 1896 after a group of progressive artists broke away from established Manhattan art ...

in Paris from 2014 to 2021 and has been was a regular visiting instructor since 2007 at the

School of the Art Institute of Chicago The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) is a Private university, private art school associated with the Art Institute of Chicago (AIC) in Chicago, Illinois. Tracing its history to an art students' cooperative founded in 1866, which gr ...

. He has also curated exhibitions, such as ''L'art et le numérique en résonance'' at the art center of Mason Populaire in Montreuil, France, '' Variation Media Art Fair'' and ''Zero Autonomy'' at Cité International des Art in Paris, ''Human Learning'' at the Canadian Cultural Center in Paris, by focusing on the using of digital in art to highlight societal issues.

Exhibitions

* ''Memo Akten: Boundaries'', Santa Maria della Visitazione, Venice, April 20 - November 24, 2024. * ''Reactivations'', Danae, Paris, February 28 - March 28, 2024. * ''Noise Media Art Fair'', Kadıköy Kent Museum, Istanbul, January 13–21, 2024. * ''Multitude & Singularity'', Le Bicolore - Maison du Danemark, Paris, December 8, 2023 - February 25, 2024. * ''Endless Variations'', with Alain Thibault and in collaboration with Catherine Bédard, Canadian Cultural Center, Paris, December 7, 2023 - Arpri 19, 2024. * ''Another Perspective'', enne Brussels, April 20 – May 7, 2023. * ''Computing Beauty'', Gallery A.dition, Seoul, May 27 - September 27, 2022. * ''Art Me!'', Galerie Charlot, Paris, April 21 - July 30, 2022 * ''Decision Making': The Decisive Instant'', with Alain Thibault and in collaboration with Catherine Bédard, Canadian Cultural Centre, Paris, December10th 2021 - April 15, 2022. * ''Human Learning: Machines Teach Us'', with Alain Thibault and in collaboration with Catherine Bédard, Canadian Cultural Centre, Paris, February 5 - August 28, 2020.

Publications

* ''Masterpieces of the 21st Century'', 2021, Art in the Digital Age, 224 pages, ISBN 979-8-547-78536-8. * ''Japan, Art and Innovation'' in ''Transphere 2016 - 2020'', (exhibition catalog), Japan Foundation, Tokyo, 2021, p. 48-49, ISBN 978-4-87540-183-4. *''Art, Technology and Trends'', in ''ats@50: Art and Technology Studies; 1969-2019'',

Eduardo Kac Eduardo Kac (born July 3, 1962) is a Brazilian and American contemporary artist whose portfolio encompasses various forms of art including performance art, poetry, holography, interactive art, digital and online art, and BioArt. Recognized for h ...

(edited by), School of the Art Institute, Chicago, 2019, p. 40-47, ISBN 978-0-578-51202-0. *''Capturing the invisible'', in ''Mathilde Lavenne'' (exhibition catalog), Casa de Velázquez, Madrid, 2019, p. 2-3. *Moulon, Dominique, ''Art Beyond Digital'', Link Editions, Brescia 2018. Paperback, 352 pages, . *''On Combinations at Work'', in ''Pascal Dombis'' (monograph), Supernova, Paris, 2018, p. 115-119, ISBN 978-2-490353-00-2. *''Exhibiting the Museum: The Hybrid Spaces of Workspace Unlimited'', in ''Practicable: From Participation to Interaction in Contemporary Art'', Samuel Bianchini & Erik Verhagen (edited by), The MIT Press, Leonardo Book Series, Cambridge, 2016, p. 543-549, ISBN 9780262034753. *Moulon, Dominique. ''Art et numérique en résonance'', Nouvelles éditions Scala, 2015, French, 158 pages, ISBN 978-2-35988-156-1. *''Conversation'', in '' Bill Vorn and his hysterical machines: robotic art and culture'', Ryszard W. Kluszczyński (Edited by), CCA Laznia, Gdansk, 2014, p. 52-73, ISBN 978-83-61646-05-1. * Moulon, Dominique, Timothy Murray, Derrick de Kerckhove,

Oliver Grau Oliver Grau (born 24 October 1965) is a German art historian and Media studies, media theoretician who focuses on image science, modernity and media art as well as culture of the 19th century and Italian art of the Renaissance. His main areas of ...

, Kristine Stiles, Jean-Baptiste Barrière, Jean-Pierre Balpe, ''

Maurice Benayoun Maurice Benayoun (aka MoBen or 莫奔) (born 29 March 1957) is a French new-media artist, curator, and theorist based in Paris and Hong Kong. His work employs various media, including video, computer graphics, immersive virtual reality, the ...

Open Art'', Nouvelles éditions Scala, 2011, French, 196 pages, . *''Fifty questions for

'', in ''Life, Light & Language (exhibition catalog)'', Centre des Arts, Enghien-les-Bains, 2011, p. 10-84, ISBN 978-2-916639-17-8. * Moulon, Dominique. ''Art contemporain nouveaux médias'', Nouvelles éditions Scala Collection: Sentiers d'Art, 2011, French, 128 pages, .

Conférences on Art & Technology

*''Imagination versus Reality'', Bozar, Brussels, Belgium, 2022. *''Reality versus Imagination'', Bozar, Brussels, Belgium, 2022. *''Interconnections between Visual Art, Digital Art and NFTs'', with Frederic Laffy, Masha Maskina, Albertine Meunier and Pau Waelder, CADAF, Online, 2021. *''Future potential of Virtual Reality'', with Tina Sauerländer, Jay Kim and Olivier Fontenay, Symposium ''Making Lemonade'', Online, 2021. *''Photography, computation & globalization'', Theme Academic Forum, Photo Beijing, Online, 2020. *T''he art of acting somewhere else'', Symposium ''Adventures of Identity: From the Double to the Avatar'', Institut d'Etudes Avancées,

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, France, 2018. *''Machines, Intelligence and Creativity'', Institute of Science and Technology for Humanity, Nanyang Technological University,

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

, 2018. *''Creation and Contemporary Art: Digital art does not exist!'', International Digital Arts Market, Phi Centre,

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, Canada, 2018. *''Coefficient of Digital'', International Symposium on Electronic Art (ISEA),

Manizales Manizales () is a city in central Colombia. It is the capital of the Caldas Department, Department of Caldas, and lies near the Nevado del Ruiz volcano. Currently, the city is the main center for the production of Colombian coffee and an importa ...

, Colombia, 2017. *''Digital Coefficient'', International Symposium on Electronic Art (ISEA),

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, Canada, 2015. *''Digital as Contemporary Art'', Media Art Futures Conference, Centro Párraga,

Murcia Murcia ( , , ) is a city in south-eastern Spain, the Capital (political), capital and most populous city of the autonomous community of the Region of Murcia, and the Ranked lists of Spanish municipalities#By population, seventh largest city i ...

, Spain, 2015. *''Digital practices of contemporary art'', Interface Culture, University of Arts,

Linz Linz (Pronunciation: , ; ) is the capital of Upper Austria and List of cities and towns in Austria, third-largest city in Austria. Located on the river Danube, the city is in the far north of Austria, south of the border with the Czech Repub ...

, Austria, 2014. *''De la ville comme atelier pour un art de relations'', ''Lumières de la ville'', 5e Biennale Internationale Toronto Montréal Lille, laboratoire Hexagram CIAM, Université du Québec à

, Canada, 2013. *''Art, Science Technology and Society'', Cumulus Conference, Aalto University,

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

, Finland, 2012. *''Art, lumière et langages'', Syncretic Transcodings, Laboratoire Hexagram CIAM, Université du Québec à

, Canada, 2012. *Forum des usages coopératifs, Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Télécommunications, Brest 2008. *Art, médias, dispositifs, Le Fresnoy, Studio national des arts contemporains, Tourcoing 2008. *The Upgrade @ Mal au Pixel, avec les membres du collectif HeHE,

2008. *Art, médias et dispositifs, Locus Sonus, Villa Arson, Nice 2008. *Arts numériques & nouveaux médias, Le Fresnoy, Studio national des arts contemporains, Tourcoing 2007. *The Upgrade @ Seconde Nature, avec les membres du laboratoire Locus Sonus,

Aix-en-Provence Aix-en-Provence, or simply Aix, is a List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, city and Communes of France, commune in southern France, about north of Marseille. A former capital of Provence, it is the Subprefectures in France, s ...

2007. *Jeudi Multimédia, Médiathèque Assia Djebar, Blanquefort 2007. *

Digital Art Digital art, or the digital arts, is artistic work that uses Digital electronics, digital technology as part of the creative or presentational process. It can also refer to computational art that uses and engages with digital media. Since the 1960 ...

in Europe Now,

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

2007. *The Upgrade, avec les membres du collectif CHDH, Point Ephémère, Paris 2007. *Les pratiques du numérique dans la création artistique, Pôle de Ressources Arts Plastiques,

Rennes Rennes (; ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in Northwestern France at the confluence of the rivers Ille and Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the Brittany (administrative region), Brittany Regions of F ...

2007. *Marché International des Arts Numériques, Festival Elektra, Cinémathèque québécoise,

Montréal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

2007. *Media Art in France, Département Intermedia, Académie des Beaux-Arts de Hongris,

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

2007. *The Upgrade, avec

, Galerie Numeriscausa,

2006. *Les Arts Médiatiques en France, Manifestation d'Art Contemporain, Paris 2006. *Art, Science, Technologie et Société, Le Fresnoy, Studio national des arts contemporains, Tourcoing 2006. *The Upgrade, avec Antoine Schmitt, Ars Longa, Paris 2006. *Le numérique et l'acte photographique aujourd'hui, Rencontres Internationales de la Photographie,

Arles Arles ( , , ; ; Classical ) is a coastal city and Communes of France, commune in the South of France, a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône Departments of France, department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Reg ...

2006. *Forum des usages coopératifs, Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Télécommunications, Brest 2006. *New Media Art in France, an overview,

School of Visual Arts The School of Visual Arts New York City (SVA NYC) is a private for-profit art school in New York City. It was founded in 1947 and is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design. History This school was started by Silas ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

2006. *New Media Art in France, an overview, Art Institute,

2006. *Ecrits Ecrans Publics, Les expressions multimédia dans la ville, Le Quartz, Brest 2006. *Arts et technologies, Espace Culture Multimédia La Maison Populaire, Montreuil 2005. *Arts, sciences et technologies, ECM / Cyber-base du Carré Amelot, La Rochelle 2005. *Les Imagies - Nouvelles images, nouvelles pratiques, CNDP - CRDP,

Montpellier Montpellier (; ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of France, department of ...

2005. *Rencontres Internationales de Lure, Lurs 2005. *Rencontres Espace Culture Multimédia, Friche la Belle de Mai,

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

2005. *Les nouveaux médias dans l'art, Ecole de Communication Visuelle,

2005. *Digital art in France,

2005. *Les arts numériques en France, Ecole Supérieure des Arts et Techniques, Paris 2005. *La forge des outils numériques, Ecole Supérieure de l'Image, Poitiers 2003. *Et voilà le travail - Image par image, Montreuil 2003. *Espaces publics : quels lieux communs, Ferme du Buisson, Noisiel 2001. *La photographie après la photographie, exposition Biozones, Forum Culturel de Blanc-Mesnil 2001.

Jury References

*Aide à la Création Multimédia Expérimentale, Acadi, Paris 2008. *Ecole de Communication Visuelle, Section Nouvelles Images,

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

2008. *Aide à la Création Multimédia Expérimentale, Acadi, Paris 2008. *Thèse "Impressions visuelles de l’art à la science" de Sylvie Huart, ATI, Université Paris VIII 2008. *Aide à la Création Multimédia Expérimentale, Acadi, Paris 2007. *Aide à la Création Multimédia Expérimentale, Acadi, Paris 2006. *Diplôme de Communication Visuelle, Ecole Supérieure des Arts et Techniques, Paris 2005. *Diplôme de Concepteur en Communication Visuelle, Ecole de Communication Visuelle,

2001.

External links

Website of Dominique Moulon

Articles by Dominique Moulon on "Art in the Digital Age"

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moulon, Dominique French art historians French art curators 1962 births Living people Cultural historians French art critics Postmodernists French male writers