Flatbed Scanner Art

Flatbed Scanner Art

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Recently, I was given the task of scanning images into the computer using a flatbed scanner. It reminded me of when I was younger and I was digitizing some artwork I had drawn. It's common nowadays for some artists to draw their work by hand and then scan the piece into the computer for compositing and editing purposes. However, this revisit to using the scanner gave me an idea that doesn't seem to have been developed yet.

My task was to scan pages of a book for use in a video piece. It was important that the book was held down to the scanner because otherwise the curve of the pages would translate into a weird looking image. The scanner basically takes a line-by-line snapshot of the item on the flatbed. If the item has elements that are generally signs of dimensions, such as shadows and light reflections, these too will be captured by the image scanner. Generally when one uses the scanner, the item on the scanner must be in the exact same place while the scanner travels down the flatbed. Otherwise, pieces of one scanned line my show up again if the item moves down, or be removed if the item moves up.

These possible errors within the line-by-line scanning system of taking photos is where my idea stems from. For example, there's a basic illusion that is performed when folding a dollar bill in thirds. George Washington's photo resembles a mushroom because the middle section of the bill is hidden (ie. removed) from view. With this idea, wouldn't it be possible to do similar edits to existing images or even objects as the scanner moves? The Wikipedia page on scanography mentions the other type of distortion with the image of a hand.

In a world where feces on canvas is considered art; why not this?