Theme: Art and Digital Technology

While the “traditional” means of creating artwork will always be celebrated and showcased, it would be remiss to ignore the reality that our increasingly digital world will lead to more ways of creating artwork in the digital sphere. The GVSU Art Museum collection features digital artwork of all kinds. From fractals created through codes to graphics created by GVSU students, and even images created through generator programs.

Explore the complexity of what “digital” means in artwork through our collection. In this section, you will find digital photography, digital illustrations, artificial intelligence “born” artwork, and you will see videos of how we can use augmented reality to complement already existing artworks made through traditional media.

Colorful artwork with lines in various colors including shaes of gree, blue, purple and pink. Image was created with a computer system

Keith Webber Jr., Fractal Art, digital illustration, 2021.74.7.

Art and Technology in the Collection

AI generated image of a cyclops robot with multiple spider-like legs against a desert background.

Corey Anton, Imaginary Robot #29, Stable Diffusion 2.1 Digital Print on Baryta, 2023, 2024.5.2.

Black and white digital photograph of a woman pressing her face against a thin, wet, piece of fabric.

Meghan Reiman, The Subtle Inequality, digital photograph, 2020, 2021.59.4.

Digital illustration of woman with koi fish and water as her hair.

Star McNeal, Afro-Sea, digital painting, 2023, 2024.57.2.

Digitally edited photograph of two bodies morphing into one with red and blue light on them.

Rachel Britton, Untitled, digital photograph, 2022.41.13.

Colorful print of a man with a beard, his hand clenched and against his chest.

Shepard Fairey, Reconnect, print with augmented reality component, 2021, 2022.49.2b.

Digitally rendered abstract artwork with many colorful squares overlapping.

Javier Torres, Overthinking, digital print, 2024, 2024.58.3.

View More Art and Technolgy Examples in the Collection

Incorporating Art and Technology into your Curriculum

The GVSU Art Museum can integrate artwork into your classroom discussions, assignments, projects, and more. Check out our calendar to see if one of our already planned events meets a goal for your students or reach out to us directly to plan something tailored to your needs. We can bring artwork to your classroom; you can visit our art storage or office spaces or book a tour of an exhibition or space on campus.

The GVSU Art Museum team can work with faculty one-on-one to create lesson plans or assignments. Whether you are looking for a behind-the-scenes experience, something hands-on, a creative usage of art in your classroom, or a more traditional assignment, we are here to assist you.

Our entire collection is available online so you can easily incorporate images or videos into your classroom. Additionally, explore our writings on artificial intelligence and ethics as a way to jumpstart the conversation. Are you looking for a kinetic way to engage your students? Send them on a scavenger hunt using our Art at GVSU app and see artwork come to life through the augmented reality feature.

To talk with us about creating a curriculum connection, please contact:
Jessica Sundstrom, Learning and Outreach Manager
[email protected]

Digital cartoon illustration of the Jack and the Bean Stalk fairytale

Chris Techentin, Jack and the Beanstalk, digital illustration with animation component, 2013, 2013.96.1.

Explore Digitally Enhanced Artworks in the Collection

Three images from the GVSU Art Museum's collection that include digital enhancements

Sid Anderson Tjampitjinpa, Water Dreaming Near Mt. Wedge, acrylic on canvas, 2016.74.10.
Mathias Alten, Gulls of Leland, oil on canvas, 1936, 1998.589.1.
Shepard Fairey, Rebirth, print, 2021, 2022.49.2a.

The GVSU Art Museum has multiple images in the collection that include digital enhancements such as Augmented Reality and animation.

You can explore these artworks through our Art at GVSU mobile app. From the "Featured" homescreen, click on "Explore Artworks in AR". When standing in front of one of the listed artworks, click on the camera icon and hold it up to the artwork. Watch the artwork come to life through your screen!

Explore all digitally enhanced artworks in the collection

Art at Your Fingertips: The Art at GVSU App

The "Art at GVSU" app is your gateway to the vast and diverse art collection at Grand Valley State University. Whether you're a student, faculty member, or visitor, this app will enrich your understanding and appreciation of the art that surrounds you.

Key Features:

Interactive Tours: Take self-guided tours with Google Maps integration to discover art across all GVSU campuses.
Comprehensive Database: Access detailed information about every piece of art in the collection, including artist bios, materials, and historical context.
Powerful Search: Easily find your favorite artworks or discover new ones with our intuitive search tools, including an AI image search.
Bookmarking: Save your art discoveries and share them with friends and family.
Augmented Reality: Experience art in a new way with our augmented reality (AR) feature, bringing sculptures and paintings to life.

Screen shot of the Art at GVSU App featuring a bronze sculpture of a horse.

Explore More Art and Technology in the Collection

Still shot of an animated work of art of a figure with a bear shaped head in a canoe.

Jonathan Thunder, Head in the Clouds, digital animation, 2025, 2025.25.1b.
Video Art

AI generated image of a made up grey, furry, creature.

Corey Anton, Fantastical Animal #46, Stable Diffusion 2.1 Digital Print on Baryta, 2023, 2024.5.3.

AI Generated Artwork

Digital photograph of a sunset with lots of purples and blues in the clouds above a body of water.

Kae Pershon, Yay Thunderstorms!, digital photograph, 2021, 2022.22.9.
Digital Photography

$Colorful fractal artwork created by a computer program.$

Keith Weber Jr., Fractal Art, digital illustration, 2021.74.1.

Computer Generated Artwork

Digital image of a character standing inside of a hole.

Caroline Elsner, Who's Got You Now, Babe?, digital illustration, 2016, 2016.41.1.

Digital Artwork

Activities and Resources

Exhibition: Stories Reimagined: Artistic Narrative in the Digital Age
Artists have used storytelling as a tool to share and interpret their own lived experiences with others and advocate for social change. Today, when digital tools present new ways to create and mediate our narrative experience.

Three examples of AI generated artwork from the GVSU Art Museum Collection: a blue made up creature, a robot painting a self portrait, and a spherical robot spider.

Blog: Can Art and Artificial Intelligence Intersect?
Artists have been using different tools and media to create since the beginning of human history, and now artificial intelligence (AI) has become one of those tools.

Three AI generated images created by Art Museum Staff in an attempt to create an image that looks like a Japanese print night landscape. Each images contains water, boats, lanterns, tress, mountains and the moon.

Blog: Experimenting with an Artificial Intelligence Image Generator
GVSU Art Museum staff experimented with an artificial intelligence image generator as we prepared for our exhibition on art in the digital sphere.

Photograph of a person holding a cellphone featuring the GVSU Art Museum, "Art at GVSU"

Blog: App connects community to more than 14,000 works of art
Aside from being available to those who physically visit one of Grand Valley's campuses, the university's vast art collection is digitally accessible through an innovative mobile app.

Detail images of digital illustration from the GVSU Art Museum collection

Blog: The Virtual Canvas: Storytelling in the Digital Era
Artists have been the illustrators of important social, cultural, and religious narratives. Many join together threads of memory, imagination, myth, reflection, and creative expression that are further nuanced by audio, video, and digital techniques.

Header Images:
Left
Javier Torres, Understanding You, digital print, 2024, 2024.59.1.
Corey Anton, Fantastical Animal #10, Stable Diffusion 2.1 Digital Print on Baryta, 2023, 2024.5.5.
Cort Cameron, Untitled, computer-generated image, 2000.397.1.

Center
Brianne McBryde, Aurora, digital illustration, 2015, 2015.81.2.
Allyson Haller, The Process, digital mixed media illustration, 2004, 2005.286.1.
Jasmine Bruce, Self-portrait, digital painting, 2018, 2018.55.3.

Right
John Phan, Superstition, digital photograph, 2019.18.1a.
Jesselyn Kanniainen, Camping at Night, reproduction digital mixed media illustration, 2020, 2021.59.1.
Elona Van Gent, Only with Commotion (Comes the Fat), digital image, 1999, 2000.021.1.

Art on Campus

For more information about the artwork selection and installation process, please contact our Project Manager, Alison Christensen; [email protected].

University Art Collection

For questions related to any artwork in the University Art Collection, in storage or on view, please contact our Collections Manager, Nicole Webb; [email protected].

Learning

For questions about integrating artwork into curriculum, please contact our Learning and Outreach Manager, Jessica Sundstrom; [email protected].

Page last modified October 15, 2025

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