[Interview] Noah Kalina X Samsung Art Store: The Past, Present and Future of Digital Art

Technology is no stranger to the art world, and people are still finding new ways to use technology in art every day. Samsung Art Store, for example, works with galleries, museums, independent artists and artist collectives to bring unique digital art experiences to users of The Frame on a brilliant, Matte display. One of these partners, Noah Kalina, is a photographer who finds that technology such as the Art Store can help connect artists to their audiences in new and previously unimaginable ways.

▲ Noah Kalina

Samsung Newsroom sat down with Noah, whose work focuses primarily on the passage of time, to discuss how his work has changed through the years and what the future of display technology might have in store.

The Stories Behind Noah Kalina’s Work

Q: What drew you to a career as an artist, particularly as a photographer?

In high school, I developed a passion for photography and attended the School of Visual Arts in New York City, where I received my BFA in photography. After college, I worked as a freelance editorial and commercial photographer, photographing portraits, landscapes and architectural interiors for various magazines and companies. By being exposed to different people and places, my personal projects were then influenced, and my commercial work allowed me to pursue my own art practice.

Q: Where do you find creative inspiration now?

I still turn to social media platforms to discover new work and find inspiration. I like to see what my friends and fellow artists are working on, so I tend to visit those websites on a daily basis to draw inspiration. Movies are another source for my future projects, and I watch at least four or five movies a week. I take long drives and listen to music because I can think about and conceptualize new ideas there. I also constantly flip through my art book collection to discover more obscure references.

Q: Others have described your work as “capturing the passage of time,” largely due to your well-known Everyday project that documented your face everyday for 20 years. How would you describe your own work?

I have always been interested in the passage of time; over the years, much of my work has been conceptually related to that theme. I love to observe how people and places subtly change over time, which can be seen in a number of my series, from Everyday to Lumberland to The River. I’d describe my work as subtle, quiet, slow and beautiful but with a little bit of humor!

▲ The River / 20220107 (2022)

Noah Kalina X Samsung Art Store

Q: What is the story behind your partnership with the Art Store?

A friend of mine, Cody Cobb, whose work I greatly admire, had pieces in the Art Store. When I first saw his work there, I was enamored with how it looked on The Frame; it’s truly an incredible viewing experience. Shortly thereafter, I was asked to be included and immediately said yes.

Q: How has the Art Store partnership with Samsung impacted your career?

It has enabled my art to be consumed by people across the world. Some who have discovered my art through the Art Store have even inquired about collecting physical prints and some of my books.

Q: How would you compare displaying your art digitally, such as on The Frame, to more traditional mediums like print or an exhibit?

It’s hard to compare because digital displays are obviously very different than traditional prints. In many ways, digital displays like The Frame are better, especially for works native to the digital ecosystem, such as digital art, photography and video. The Matte display on The Frame and the backlighting can render certain artworks in a truly surreal, almost three-dimensional fashion, which is something a traditional print doesn’t do as well. One of the biggest advantages of a digital display is the ability to change the work over time and display different types of mediums. Being able to use the space a television takes up when not in use to showcase art is also a benefit of digital displays.

▲ The Redbud / 20140518 (2014)

Future of Digital Art

Q: Has there been a change in how you create art as technology becomes increasingly integrated into the art world? Have you noticed a change in the way people consume your art?

The changes in technology for monitors and displays have certainly affected how I consider and make my compositions. But in reality, I am a photographic purist and generally do my work with a physical print in mind while understanding that my work may primarily be consumed on screens large and small.

I embraced digital technology fairly early and started posting my work on the internet in 1998. The idea of anyone, anywhere in the world, having access to my art is something I have always loved. People having potentially unlimited exposure to my work has always been important to me.

We’re certainly going to see AI impact commercial photography, and I think a lot of the types of photographs I used to be commissioned for won’t exist anymore. That said, AI tools can be used to enhance photographs and make the editing process easier, and I am interested in how I might apply that technology to my own projects.

▲ Untitled “River” (2013)

Q: Which of your works would you recommend to consumers to display on The Frame?

First, I would recommend the Untitled “Diagonal” (2015), which is a fallen tree captured in foggy woods. I had taken numerous photographs of this scene between 2014 and 2017 until the dead tree fell. There is something about this photograph that works particularly well on The Frame. It appears almost three-dimensional. You can read more about this series here.

▲ Untitled “Diagonal” (2015)

The Lumberland (2015) looks absolutely unbelievable on The Frame and is the first photograph I ever made in my Lumberland series. The series Lumberland is a time-based project documenting a black walnut tree throughout the seasons. I have taken more than 70 photographs of this landscape over the past eight years.

▲ Lumberland / 20150923 (2015)

My Untitled “Path” (2018) also looks fantastic on The Frame because of its mystery. It is a surreal landscape of a branch wrapped in LED lights set next to a seemingly endless stone wall. This is from a series of works where I insert electronic elements into the landscape.

▲ Untitled “Path” (2018)

To discover more of Noah Kalina’s artwork, head to the Samsung Art Store in The Frame.