If there was ever any sense that the computer revolution would somehow mean the death of the artist, it has been brilliantly dispelled by David Hockney’s latest collection, in which each piece has been hand drawn using Adobe Photoshop and Graphics Tablet.

There are three big points to make here. The first is the technological issue. Hockney sees computer art as little more than another medium in which to work - certainly not a displacement or inferior younger cousin of ‘real art’ (stuckists take note). His rationale is practical. According to Hockney, it is only in the last year that computer technology has developed to respond to an artists’ touch and sensitive sense of colour definition. Moreover, there is an advantage. While switching from oil to watercolour brushing takes time with a ‘real’ brush, with virtual brushing, it can be done at a click.

The second is what I might call the aesthetic issue. ‘People tend to think that computer art looks a certain way’ says Hockney. His collection dispells the myth of the paintshop ‘vector’ or ‘web 2.0′ look that inevitably attends computer art. His collection is diverse, sensitive, filled with humour, the absurd, glorious contrast between the infinity of the natural - the fractal patterns of autumnal leaves - and the whimsy of the modern - a young man in a chair with a brand name t-shirt.

The third thing I call the technological or user issue. Recent reports suggest that boys dislike drawing and should be exposed to more computer generated art to engage their artistic interest. Pish posh, says Hockney. He suggests that the problem is with boring teachers. I agree. If art educators think they and their pupils will engage with the artistic process only with the help of a 10 terrahertz pentium, the levels of delusion in our educational establishment are worse than I previously realised. Hockney’s greatest achievement is to reaffirm the preeminence of the artist in computer art. After all, who, save for Hockney could have created these works?

Computing opens up great possibilities for the artist, but it will never displace him. We at Blue Rim London are looking for computer drawn art to add to our collection, as we are convinced that here is where the future of art and the progressive development of artists lies. Luddites and Eschatologists come and go with every technological revolution, but the artist has endured since the cave-painted aurochs. Long may that continue.

Ash