This text, “Arte y Diseño Multimedia: El cruce entre dos maneras de entender el mundo” [Multimedia Art and Design: The Intersection of Two Ways to Understand the World], is part of the compilation El Medio es el Diseño Audiovisual [The Medium is Audiovisual Design] published by the Universidad de Caldas and compiled by Jorge La Ferla in 2007. Myriam Luisa Díaz, a Colombian systems engineer, who did her postgraduate studies at IARFAG (Université de Paris VI), and director of Especialización en Creación Multimedia [Specialization in Multimedia Creation] in the art department at the Universidad de los Andes [University of the Andes], takes a historical and personal approach to the development of the curriculum of the Specialization program. Based on a tentative relationship between artistic creation, design, and multimedia possibilities, Díaz identifies the need for, use, and development of specific programming languages (CAD, computer assisted design, and CAM, computer assisted manufacture) as precursors to the emphasis on Medios Electrónicos y Artes del Tiempo (MEAT) [Contemporary Electronic and Art Media] in the art department at the Universidad de los Andes. Díaz claims that this curriculum provides conceptual tools for the development of new generations of artists who are interested in the role of technology that stress the role of software and the possibilities of an interdisciplinary environment that allows the artist to consider software as a medium of expression, including its possibilities as the end product in terms of the work of art.   

This document is important because Myriam Luisa Díaz, a Colombian systems engineer and director of Especialización en Creación Multimedia [Specialization in Multimedia Creation] in the art department at the Universidad de los Andes [University of the Andes] offers a historical perspective on the relationship between contemporary artists (1980 through 2009) and the use of new technologies and multimedia environments in the creation of works of art.

In a discussion on Medios Electrónicos y Artes del Tiempo (MEAT) [Contemporary Electronic and Art Media] in the art department at the Universidad de los Andes, Díaz focuses on the theoretical and practical concerns surrounding access to software, its use, and its development in the service of art. The essay explores the ambiguous connection between art, culture, and society in Colombia, expressing concern over the apparent disconnect between them. Díaz discusses the limitations of the medium and its historical application in terms of the use and distribution of technology.  

Díaz also draws on her own experience to explain the reasons for the development of a curriculum that reflects a concern with an exploration of alternative options for interdisciplinary practices but always keeps in mind the artist’s perspective vis-à-vis four main points: the multimedia concept, the tool, its possibilities as an artistic resource and as the actual medium for creating a work of art.