Biography and Artist Statement
Biography
Photographer and digital artist Michael Escalante currently resides in Baltimore, MD. Born in Wheeling, WV, he moved to Dallas, TX at age 8 where he was influenced by the developing art scene. Mr. Escalante holds a BFA in sculpture from Texas Tech University, and a MFA in photographic and electronic media from the Maryland Institute College of Art. Mr. Escalante has exhibited his work in cities throughout Texas, including Dallas, Lubbock, Denton, and locally in Easton, and Baltimore, MD.
Artist Statement
Jpeg compression uses a specific algorithm used by the .jpeg image format to create abstract images. With the ubiquity of .jpeg photographs, compression artifacts have become so pervasive that they are often ignored or are at worst a nuisance. In the hands of the artist, the same algorithm that creates this nuisance can be used to create something completely new. These images are created by taking repeated screen grabs of low resolution .jpegs and increasing the color saturation. These images would not have been possible before the Joint Photographic Experts Group, or JPEG as it commonly known, released the code for the .jpg file in 1992. The blend of art and mathematics creates unexpected and often quite beautiful, intense image. The artist discovered this unique method through a printing error, but the results are anything but.
Photographer and digital artist Michael Escalante currently resides in Baltimore, MD. Born in Wheeling, WV, he moved to Dallas, TX at age 8 where he was influenced by the developing art scene. Mr. Escalante holds a BFA in sculpture from Texas Tech University, and a MFA in photographic and electronic media from the Maryland Institute College of Art. Mr. Escalante has exhibited his work in cities throughout Texas, including Dallas, Lubbock, Denton, and locally in Easton, and Baltimore, MD.
Artist Statement
Jpeg compression uses a specific algorithm used by the .jpeg image format to create abstract images. With the ubiquity of .jpeg photographs, compression artifacts have become so pervasive that they are often ignored or are at worst a nuisance. In the hands of the artist, the same algorithm that creates this nuisance can be used to create something completely new. These images are created by taking repeated screen grabs of low resolution .jpegs and increasing the color saturation. These images would not have been possible before the Joint Photographic Experts Group, or JPEG as it commonly known, released the code for the .jpg file in 1992. The blend of art and mathematics creates unexpected and often quite beautiful, intense image. The artist discovered this unique method through a printing error, but the results are anything but.
