“Playtime,” a lighthearted exhibition of computer-generated work created by artist-journalist Tim Higgins concluded Aug. 5, Arthaus, Allentown.

Higgins’ “Playtime” (2022; digital media on glass, 29 in. x 22 in.) is the centerpiece and title of his 2022 series of digital collages.

Self-contained with its digitally-crafted frame and shelves, the piece appears to be a three-dimensional assemblage of toys and other found objects. The focal point is a child-like figure in a blue shark costume rising up from below a diorama featuring a plastic bridge beset by model planes.

Instead of clipping images from printed materials and gluing them to a canvas or board, Higgins scans them or uses images he finds online. These are manipulated and arranged on a laptop computer screen. The artist makes houses and creates original images with art and paint software. The artist proofs are printed on glass.

Higgins began experimenting with the digital format in 2008.

“It’s all about play,” explains Higgins about the digital medium, which he finds fascinating. “It opened up new possibilities and a certain amount of freedom.”

“Higgins’ visual information choices bring us to a very Carl Jung place in our unconscious mind, how we form memories from childhood from films, cartoons, and marketing,” says Arthaus exhibition curator Deborah Rabinsky. “This brings us to a collective consciousness as viewer.”

Higgins use of intense, vibrant, hues is enhanced by their application to the inside of the glass panes with white foam board as backing.

“It’s a ‘Technicolor’ type of coloring,” Higgins says. It’s influenced by early cartoon animation where the colors were rendered on plastic sheets, known as cels.

“I’m trying to be of my times,” Higgins says, regarding his use of images reminiscent of the 1950s and 1960s. Astronauts, planets, spaceships, vintage cartoon and comic book characters inhabit these digital universes, along with suburban tract housing recognizable from that era. “These things remind me, not only of my childhood, but of my present times.”

Although each work appears to tell a story, “It’s up to the viewer,” says Higgins. “These are objects within an object. It’s having fun with what you see.”

Higgins studied art at Kutztown University, Northampton Community College and with James Carroll at the New Arts Program.

Higgins pursued a career in journalism after starting out as a copy boy at age 15 at The Morning Call.

All the while, Higgins nurtured his talent as a visual artist, first with traditional mediums.

He credits teacher Dolly Yanolko at Salisbury High School for inspiring his love of visual art.

Arthaus, 645 W. Hamilton St., Allentown. 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. Tuesday - Saturday. Closed Sunday, Monday. 610-841-4866

“Gallery View” is a column about artists, exhibitions and galleries. To request coverage, email: Paul Willistein, Focus editor, pwillistein@tnonline.com