It would be difficult to exaggerate the impact of computers on the study and production of art. Not since the invention of photography has the art world been so radically transformed by a new technology.

Computers have changed methods of making art. Programs such as Adobe Photoshop, for example, can imitate the effects of watercolor, pastels, and paint through digital techniques and with greater flexibility than more traditional media such as oil or charcoal, because virtually every mark can be easily reversed or erased. Further, images produced with a program like Photoshop are much more transportable than images in traditional media because a digital image can be sent through e-mail or posted on a web site with ease.

There have been, however, some concerns about the alienating effects that such new technology might have on art and artists alike. With the production of images...