Art, Science + Technology
DMA9 Fall 2007, Section BArchive for October 21, 2007
Machine or Art?
At first I thought the concept of kinetic art was bizarre. However, as class progressed and Professor Vesna showed us video clips of the breathing growling lion, and the boxes with bright flashing lights and spinning discs I began to recognize these objects not only as machines but as art.
Walter Benjamin, in his essay “The Works of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction”, talks about how objects such as paintings, sculpture, photographs, and film originally have a ritualistic or practical use (“cult value”) before it becomes more reproducible and considered art (“exhibition value”). This can also be applied to kinetic art. While motion pictures are a set of images played in quick succession to give the illusion of motion and is generally considered art, moving objects should likewise be considered art.
We humans have been using tools since primitive man picked up a rock to crack a nut or a stick to strike prey; tools act as an extension of our physical capabilities enabling us to more effectively channel our energies. Tools evolved in complexity to machines which helped us do difficult or repetitive tasks with greater speed and efficiency. Now machinery can be viewed as art or constructed to be art pieces. One example of this transformation can be seen in vehicles. Early man believed the circle was a divine symbol and thus the wheel had special “cult” significance. As vehicles developed from animal to steam to fossil fuel powered, they have always had a practical purpose of transporting people and/or items safely, quickly, and efficiently. However, these machines attain a unique beauty as well. Vehicles are engineered to move with the greatest ease and efficiency; their streamlined bodies also makes them aesthetically thrilling. Their intricate machinery operates in elegant harmony. Vehicles can be considered a kinetic art.
http://www.diseno-art.com/encyclopedia/machines/machines.html
Industrial Rock as an Influence of Art in General
What role does industrial rock/metal play in the grand scheme of music or art in general?
Industrial music serves as a catalyst to push music towards a more bizarre, yet very visually and musically artistic direction. It’s easy to make up your mind about whether or not you like industrial rock by just hearing it. However, to make a real opinion about industrial rock and metal, you have to see a performance (better to be seen in person than in a video) to truly understand the purpose of this form of art. Many bands throw in strange (kinetic, robotic, etc) art during performances, notably, Marilyn Manson. Though many cannot see past the shock value, the art is there so long as people want to accept it.
(Marilyn Manson during a performance)
The music has many aspects of what may seem industrial – there’s lots of banging, lots of strange percussion (trashcan lids, any form of metal…anything that can make a sound, really.), and a plethora of unique guitar, bass, and synthesizer effects. Aside from these sounds, there are other sounds that traditionally would not be found in music, like stomping, for instance (See “Intro” and “Apocalypse Please” by Muse on their CD Absolution. Though not considered industrial rock, there is most definitely influence there.). During lecture on Wednesday, Gil showed us some industrial rock bands, one of which actually brought a metal grinder onto the stage which not only created sound, but created a barrage of sparks which undoubtedly shocked and amazed the crowd. Industrial rock, then, it not just music, but rather, it is industrial art. It is hence related to kinetic art. This rise of both kinetic and industrial art has begun to make its way onto the radio (Nine Inch Nails), the stage (fireworks and other visual art during a concert), and the internet (Mentos and soda, anyone?).
Links:
Mentos and Diet Coke
Industrial rock on Wiki
A great site with information on kinetic art, as well as some interesting galleries
everyday art = kinetic art
How does the industrial revolution continue to affect people?
The industrial revolution is received to be very emotionless. Men like Henry Ford and Frederick Taylor took the individuality out of the factories. To me the industrial revolution has a negative connotation. But is spawned many new genres of art. The class viewed kinetic art that was a product of this new age. From individual aspects to general appeal, kinetic art exudes starkness and isolation, the atmosphere of a factory. Especially the sounds that the art produced felt like I was in a factory. The first piece we looked at of the spinning circle made a noise very similar to a spinning lathe in a machine shop. The repetitive motions that this art exhibits are very similar to the movements of robots in a car factory. But to me kinetic art is not art rebelling against robots, but showing that industrialization can be used to create something that insights emotion. The industrial music in class is also influenced by the industrial revolution. If a foundry had a soundtrack it would be from the band Big Black. Big Black uses fairly standard instruments: guitars, bass, and drums. What makes Big Black industrial is the effects they use on their instruments and the sounds the drum kits produce. Every art form that is influenced by heavy industry is by in part from our immersion in the industry as a society. Just by being around industry we are affected by it and so is our art.
Is kinetic art a popular art form?
I was thinking about my artistic career and thought have I ever produced kinetic art? Mobiles are a common form of kinetic art, but I have never made one of those. But I have setup dominoes in various patterns and watch them fall. Kinetic art can be very simple. Watching the mesmerizing motion of art like falling dominoes is what I like about kinetic art. The motion adds another dimension to usually stable art. A piece of kinetic art I enjoyed as a child as much as dominoes, where the mazes of track and traps that carry billiard balls in circles. The tracks are often made of metal, colored and raw. But either way they undoubtedly transfer the influence of the factory. The interaction of eye and your ears is what I find alluring about kinetic art. It is an art form that is very stimulating.
Robotics and Technology
Are robotics a part of art, science, or both?
It would be very unlikely that a person could look at robotics and fail to see the scientific or technological aspects associated with them. To create a robot one must have an extensive understanding of mechanics, electronics, kinematics, dynamics, and other various aspects of physics. Being a scientist, I have always seen this connection. Yet, up until this week I had never really considered the possibility of robotics being associated with art. Nevertheless, there is a definite connection with robotics and art (in fact there are many types of art that use robotics). In researching this question I came across works done by Carl Pisaturo. He has created many unique works of art involving robotic principles. One that I find very interesting is his Octopus.
At first I was attracted to it by just how it looked. But as I looked further into the work of art I became even more interested as to how it was created and how it works. It is an amazing piece of art that is almost completely based off of science. For people interested in figuring out more about this the link to his website is listed below.
Robotics is a great example of the integration of art and science. A person would have to have a strong background in science to be able build and control a robot. And nowadays there are many works of art and artists that incorporate robotics into their work. This goes back to the topic we had in week one of the existence of a third culture, people that are both artists and scientists. With more and more people becoming involved with technology, especially robotics, we see the third culture becoming more and more prevalent.
By becoming more technologically advanced, are we losing artistic creativity?
Before industrialization and mass production there was a lot more artistic expression present in the world. Everything was created using the human hand and therefore was original. Craftsmen created not just products, but works of art. Yet, industrialization is destroying this creativity that once existed just about everywhere. With such things as the assembly line, taylorism, and mass production creativity and originality has taken a back seat to efficiency and production. This is evident in many aspects of society today. Works of art can be easily reproduced, often times of better quality with the use of machines. The thing is that there is no variance in the items that machines produce. Cars are a great example of this. In the 1960s cars had very unique designs and were very distinguishable. There is an obvious difference between two cars from this era. They have completely different designs and are true works of art. However, this originality is being lost with modern cars. It is very difficult to drive down a freeway and identify a car by just how it looks. There is a lot of emphasis in society on production and efficiency. As long as something can be produced cheap and quick, it is becoming less important as to how unique and creative it is.
Links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robotics
http://www.ekac.org/roboticart.html
Week 3 – Peter Chang
Where has industrialization gotten art and science?
It’s clear that industrialization has played an enormous part in how our lives have changed since a couple hundred years ago. One of the largest changes has been population. The advent of mass production into the world made living necessities widely available to more and more people allowing mankind to grow in numbers exponentially. This concept of “mass”-everything was given the term “Talyorism” by scholars which described the scientific approach to improving lifestyle (scientific management) then mass-producing the solution (Fordism – first assembly lines for vehicles).
From that era, artists realized how utterly insignificant man was becoming. We see the development of forms of art that no longer portrayed humans individuals but the mechanization of mankind. While one may think that this sort of change divided art and science even further, in actuality this change just sparked an evolution in how art and science interact. Before the industrial era, before robots and cybernetics, artists mainly just portrayed developing technology in their works. Ever since Taylorism swept the world with its notion of scientific management, artists have found ways to actually use the technologies of their day in their artwork.
Walter Benjamin quoted that “mechanical reproduction emancipates the work of art from its parasitical dependence on ritual”. As an example, Andy Warhol does just this. He uniquely portrays the nature of mass production by using methods of mass production himself, specifically silk-screen art. Warhol frees himself from the dependence on singular masterpieces by reproducing his work this way.
This, however is just one form of artwork created by technology. Professor Vesna introduced her class to many forms of kinetic art that utilize machinery and technology. A few unique examples include the kinetic piece “Rotorelief” by Duchamp, Survival Research Labs, and the movie Blade Runner.
But what about science? What has art done to the science community? Art spawned many innovative technological concepts that has sculpted the world we live in today. One of the most important pieces of work on technology was the Memex machine. This machine was supposed to simply collect and store human knowledge. Though obviously conceptual by its absurd prototype diagrams, this idea of an idea collector lead to the development of what we call computers. What do computers do? They store ideas.
Science and art has created a close knit relationship between robotics and the military of today. We saw a movie called Blade Runner which depicted a group of superhuman called “replicants” who look like humans, act like humans, and even have human emotions, but are just robots at heart. This movie spawned hundreds of other movies that involve the integration of humans and robotics. Science has recently tried to turn film art into reality, starting in the military. The military is currently working on projects that use robotic limb enhancements that attach to human appendages to give them superhuman strength and stamina.
This sort of robotic augmentation on humans was then taken full circle again to create art that specifically dealt with robotic integration with humans. The pinnacle example of this would be the artist Stelarc. His works of art involves just what the military are doing right now on a more creative level. Examples of his works can be found here.
Robotics: An Impassive Era
Do robots have an emotional tie to art?
During the industrialisation era we utilized robotics as a form to prosper in both the economic and technological aspects of society. As technology continues to advance we continue to infuse the benefits of robotics in everyday activities. As the technological advances are Incorporated into the two worlds of science and the arts the need for human experimentation becomes less important. Although technology is essential to the sciences, in the arts in impedes the artist from communicating a purpose. Without a purpose to the robotic works of art, the pieces become redundant. The artist is necessary to produce original works as opposed to the art produced by the robot that reflects no emotion, purpose, or idea. Much like the technological revolution of text/ instant messaging, we loose the personal aspects of communication. With the greatness of texting and email we communicate our expressions through computerized messages as lol, 
, 
, the importance of personal interaction and the significance of individuality is lost. Art should utilize technology and it advances as a way to improve and impact the works that produced rather than to try to rid of the artist who expresses individuality and creativity in every distinct work of art.
Is art an evolution of technology?
Like technology art has also experienced various advances. From the principles of dimension and perspective to the abstract forms it contains art has evolved to the demands of technology. Art is not only parallel to technology but also a technology of its own. Art can take the life it desires to take no matter how abstract or irregular it seems. It can also be manipulated to the demands of its controler. Like technology, art contains its own world, language and history. As art became prominent during the renaissance era it mainly depicted the activities of a ordinary life and consisted mainly of individual portraits. Today that technology has reached a level of major impact to personal communication, art has also taken an abstract evolution. The images of art take various branches consisting of photography, portraits, sculpture, paintings, and any form of abstract work that holds some type of importance to its creator.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0182789/
http://www.senster.com/robots_in_art/
http://www.robotsltd.co.uk/ABB-510-Painting.htm
I, Robot
During Monday’s lecture, Vesna discussed Karel Capek’s introduction of Robotics in the year 1920. I was amused by the year of 1920 because it was the year that Isaac Asimov was born. A prolific writer who has won literally every science-fiction award that exists, it’s a coincidence that Asimov, the author of “I, Robot” was born in the year of which robots were introduced to society. I have deep respect for Asimov. As one of the cornerstones of science fiction, he is the visionary who popularized spaceships, space travel, robots, etc through his 400+ books. Although his writing style maybe a little dry to certain people, I highly recommend that people read his Foundation and I, Robot series.
In case you have no idea what “I, Robot” is (I hope you do). It was a book that was made into the movie which starred Will Smith.
If you haven’t seen this movie… go watch it.
Although Robots were introduced in the 20th century, they have technically existed since the 18th century. In my first blog post (for week 1), I mentioned Karakuri dolls which are pretty much Japanese mechanical robots. (week 1 post) However, the function of the Karakuri robot was for entertainment. The robots introduced in the 20th century were likened more towards workers.
