Computer Artwork - A City of the Future

This computer artwork of the future by Roger Harris concentrates on the technological aspect of the future; it portrays a city filled with towering buildings with monitors attached to them, along with police vehicles in the background. It seems like a wonderful place to live in in the future, but everything here seems so rigid. It almost looks too perfect; the buildings may look stunning and may even function efficiently, but where are the non-technological aspects of the world? What happened to nature? The sky, besides the clouds there, seems devoid of life; are there scarce amount of birds in the future? If we can build buildings upon what looks to be like water in the artwork, what will happen to habitats of aquatic animals? However, it may be that the artist wanted to focus upon the technological features for his audience and not put in distractions like nature. With the presence of the two police vehicles in the picture, it definitely seems like Harris wanted to subtly make a point about the government rather than the technology present in the picture.

Harris’s work depicts what looks like to be a utopia... but not really. If there are police vehicles within this futuristic society, that would imply that there are still crimes within this world, or perhaps dissent against the government. On a deeper level, the artwork seems to focus not on the utopia or nature, but rather what would happen if the government received too much strength, and essentially, controlled society. The presence of a large looming building with screen monitors suggests how the government, a powerful and large entity of society, is always watching everyone. The presence of the police vehicles reinforces the idea of the government controlling all aspects of society with an iron fist, arresting anyone that would openly oppose the government. The buildings in the background that are overshadowed by the primary building represent the oppressed citizens of the society.

Harris utilizes bright colors to depict the central and primary building in his artwork to create the illusion that this seems like a perfect society, but if looked at carefully, the other buildings possess dull colors in contrast to the large building. The other hint comes in the form of the police vehicles; how can a society be considered “perfect” if there is still crime and/or dissent against the government? Ultimately, The audience is left to ponder about how there can be the perfect relationship between the government and its people… can there be a way where the government has enough power to help its people and support them, but not too much power where it becomes overbearing?