In In Our Own Image, Ted Ritchin talks about the fluidity of the digital in terms of personal expression. In my opinion, fluidity of the digital describes the versatility of digital mediums such as video, photography, and online blogs. It’s about how these forms of art adapt according to who the viewers/interacters are, and how they can evoke different meaning according to how someone’s mood is or the situations/environment they are set in.
For example, this illusion shows two different interpretations. One time, a viewer may see the white vase in the middle, but others, they may see the two face silhouettes facing each other. In terms of fluidity of the digital, if someone is feeling heartbroken or confrontational, they may see the faces, but if they are happy or have been shopping for flowers, they may see the vase. It’s about the duality of art and digital mediums.
Photography is not necessarily the best way to capture reality. For example, many travel accounts always hyper-edit their photos to bring out the colours of sunsets, and the camera angles always change how viewers would see it in comparison to if they were at the scene themselves. Furthermore, there is no true way to really exemplify what the human eye sees with a fabricated lens. No matter what, there is always distortion. However, it can also bring out things that the naked eye cannot – zoom lens and microscopic cameras help us to envision what we cannot purely see. So in a sense, photography also encapsulates the concept of the fluidity of the digital.