Week 3 | Robotic + Art
The development of robotics has always been a dialogue between art and science. Technologies such as the printing press made possible the dissemination of information that made Europe fertile ground for the Enlightenment and further developments in the basic ideas concerning robots. Automatons were quite popular, and items such as the Mechanical Turk (a purported chess-playing automaton) captivated many, going on tours around Europe playing various statesmen. More recently, though, as noted by Prof. Vesna, the advent of computer technology greatly sped up robotics progress.
The associated rise of the internet also allows new perspectives on Walter Benjamin’s “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction,” which, if written today, might be called “The Work of Art in the Digital Age.” Interestingly, our digital age seems to have only amplified Benjamin’s points rather than invalidate them. Digital art can be copied, transmitted, and modified endlessly, whereas physical-mechanical replications are bound by dimension and physical presence. Finally, the “simultaneous collective experience” that Benjamin describes has been made nearly effortless, and can be seen, for example, in Marina Abramović’s live-streamed 2010 work The Artist is Present.
Benjamin also writes of time periods in which “a certain art form aspires to effects which could be fully obtained only with a changed technical standard, that is to say, in a new art form.” The internet can serve as a source of nearly unlimited inspiration and ideas. The digital world – and perhaps the computer itself – has become a canvas unlike any other: responsive, interactive, and globally accessible. One of the most fascinating developments in related areas has been the beginning of art-making artificial intelligence. Google’s DeepDream program demonstrates how a neural network “sees” images and recognizes common forms, yielding mind-bending (and sometimes frightful) results in the process. One cannot help to wonder about the “mind” behind such images and where further development will take us.
Michael, Lincoln. "The Grandmaster Hoax." The Paris Review. 28 Mar. 2012. Web. 24 Apr. 2017. <https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2012/03/28/the-grandmaster-hoax/>.
Hart, David. "MoMA | Live-Streaming Marina Abramović: Crazy or Brave?" InsideOut. 15 Mar. 2010. Web. 24 Apr. 2017. <https://www.moma.org/explore/inside_out/2010/03/15/live-streaming-marina-abramovic-crazy-or-brave/>.
Vincent, Alice. "How has the internet changed art?" The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group, 01 Oct. 2014. Web. 24 Apr. 2017. <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/art-features/11130492/How-has-the-internet-changed-art.html>.
Auerbach, David. "DeepDream Feels Like Google Images on Drugs. It’s Also the Future of A.I." Slate Magazine. 23 July 2015. Web. 24 Apr. 2017.<http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/bitwise/2015/07/google_deepdream_it_s_dazzling_creepy_and_tells_us_a_lot_about_the_future.html>.
Voon, Claire. "Google's New Visualization Tool Slips Slimy and Furry Creatures into Art History." Hyperallergic. Hyperallergic, 08 July 2015. Web. 24 Apr. 2017. <https://hyperallergic.com/219657/googles-new-visualization-tool-slips-slimy-and-furry-creatures-into-art-history/>
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| Engraving depicting the Mechanical Turk, a hoax machine that was claimed to be a chess-playing automaton and whose secret survived many years. (Michael 2012) |
The associated rise of the internet also allows new perspectives on Walter Benjamin’s “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction,” which, if written today, might be called “The Work of Art in the Digital Age.” Interestingly, our digital age seems to have only amplified Benjamin’s points rather than invalidate them. Digital art can be copied, transmitted, and modified endlessly, whereas physical-mechanical replications are bound by dimension and physical presence. Finally, the “simultaneous collective experience” that Benjamin describes has been made nearly effortless, and can be seen, for example, in Marina Abramović’s live-streamed 2010 work The Artist is Present.
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| Still from web stream of Marina Abramović’s live-streamed The Artist is Present. (Hart, 2010) |
Benjamin also writes of time periods in which “a certain art form aspires to effects which could be fully obtained only with a changed technical standard, that is to say, in a new art form.” The internet can serve as a source of nearly unlimited inspiration and ideas. The digital world – and perhaps the computer itself – has become a canvas unlike any other: responsive, interactive, and globally accessible. One of the most fascinating developments in related areas has been the beginning of art-making artificial intelligence. Google’s DeepDream program demonstrates how a neural network “sees” images and recognizes common forms, yielding mind-bending (and sometimes frightful) results in the process. One cannot help to wonder about the “mind” behind such images and where further development will take us.
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| Hieronymus Bosch’s famous “The Garden of Earthly Delights”, as seen by DeepDream. (Voon, 2015) |
Michael, Lincoln. "The Grandmaster Hoax." The Paris Review. 28 Mar. 2012. Web. 24 Apr. 2017. <https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2012/03/28/the-grandmaster-hoax/>.
Hart, David. "MoMA | Live-Streaming Marina Abramović: Crazy or Brave?" InsideOut. 15 Mar. 2010. Web. 24 Apr. 2017. <https://www.moma.org/explore/inside_out/2010/03/15/live-streaming-marina-abramovic-crazy-or-brave/>.
Vincent, Alice. "How has the internet changed art?" The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group, 01 Oct. 2014. Web. 24 Apr. 2017. <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/art-features/11130492/How-has-the-internet-changed-art.html>.
Auerbach, David. "DeepDream Feels Like Google Images on Drugs. It’s Also the Future of A.I." Slate Magazine. 23 July 2015. Web. 24 Apr. 2017.<http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/bitwise/2015/07/google_deepdream_it_s_dazzling_creepy_and_tells_us_a_lot_about_the_future.html>.
Voon, Claire. "Google's New Visualization Tool Slips Slimy and Furry Creatures into Art History." Hyperallergic. Hyperallergic, 08 July 2015. Web. 24 Apr. 2017. <https://hyperallergic.com/219657/googles-new-visualization-tool-slips-slimy-and-furry-creatures-into-art-history/>
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