Micha Klein (1964)
Micha Klein often says that 'the computer is the revenge of the art of painting.'* Klein began his education at the Rietveldacademie as a painter, but soon discovered the Commodore Amiga computer and began experimenting with it. He was also fortunate enough to become familiar with the Paintbox (for its time, an extremely expensive and state-of-the-art computer for image processing) while working a side job at a photo lab. In the nineteen nineties, Klein developed a completely personal image language inspired by film, video, advertising, fashion, comics, cyberspace and (then still emerging) house music. He populates his computer graphics with portraits of real people. Another motif Klein has explored is creating an ideal image compiled from the faces of a number of different photographic models (hearkening back to painters such as Rafaël, who attempted to synthesise the ideal woman as early as the sixteenth century). His Artificial Beauty Series was a subtle commentary on the contemporary ideal of beauty - of both women and men.
Alongside his autonomous work, Klein has also done commercial work: it keeps him on his toes, he says, and keeps him in touch with the latest technological developments. For example, this computer artist's first experience with processing film images came in 2003 when he was commissioned to develop commercials for Coca-Cola. In 2004, he and his team became the first Europeans to produce animation for a Walt Disney movie: Around the World in 80 Days. In 2008, Klein was asked to develop animations for Sony's Little Big Planet Playstation. 'A game or a level is a work of art that can be experienced interactively,' says Klein. 'It can contain a story or challenges that you can then share with other people. This way, the game can take on a life of its own.'**
* A. Ribbens, ‘Ik geef de housecultuur een smoel’, NRC Handelsblad, 09.01.1998
** q.v. 'Een videogame als interactive kunst,' Metro, 25.09.2008
