McCabe Week 3: Robotics + Art

Over the past few decades, our world has made several exceptional advancements in technology due to industrialization and mechanization. Specifically in this weeks lectures and readings, we are referring to robotics. Maša Jazbec, our guest speaker this week, made a great point on how many people believe robotics are more of a futuristic idea, but in reality, we are surrounded by all sorts of robotic inventions already. For example, robots are found in all sorts of movies like Metropolis, at home appliances like a Roomba, and surveillance robotics; these are only a few to name. It is important to look at the impact of robotics and technology advancements on modern day art.


Walter Benjamin in his article "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction" takes a closer look at this idea. He explains how original works of art lose their authority along with their quality being deprecated by the easiness of modern day technology. It not hard to instantly download an image or copy of some form of art. Everyone also has easy access to movies, shows, and other entertainment. Benjamin describes how this "changes the reaction of the masses toward art," and how now, we the audiences, are actually being absorbed by the art. I found this very interesting and relatable because recently I have had the feeling that no one is capable of an original thought anymore. Every opinion or idea that we form, there are many others thinking the same thing, and I think this is due to the distractedness which Benjamin explains. Life and technology moves so fast nowadays that we have no time to process and form our own thoughts, and are left with no contemplation.



While it is scary how infatuated we are by technology, there are some great works of art that have come from the development of robotics and science in general. Gijis Van Bon is a well known artist for his used of robotics in his art instillations. They are very technical and it is said that the instillations "come to life".  One of my favorite inventions I found that Van Bon created was his StreetRover, a "computer-controlled high-pressure cleaner writes and draws on the street by purposefully and precisely removing the dirt from paving stones or asphalt." I thought it a great combination of robotics and art since the robot he created is the thing that actually produces the art.



Resources

Benjamin, Walter. The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. Translated by J. A. Underwood, Penguin Books, 2008.

Eggert, Brian. “Metropolis.” Deep Focus Review, Deep Focus Review, 10 Jan. 1927, deepfocusreview.com/definitives/metropolis/.

“STREETROVER.” Gijs Van Bon, www.gijsvanbon.nl/streetrover.html.

Taylor, Alan. “The Ubiquity of Smartphones, as Captured by Photographers.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 14 Nov. 2018, www.theatlantic.com/photo/2018/11/smartphones-are-everywhere/575878/.

Vesna,Victoria. “Lecture Part 3.” Robotics + Art. 16 April. 2021. Lecture.

Comments

  1. AnonymousApril 18, 2021 at 11:46 PM

    Hi Lauren!
    I loved reading your blog post! I also agree that today's world revolves around technology, even though it may be perceived as a thing of the future. From social media algorithms to Alexas, we are overrun by immense technological advancements today. This ties into your piece on authenticity and how much technology rules over our lives. Even in this pandemic, the reason we are all able to meet each other is through Zoom, a technological invention. I definitely think this is the challenge that our generation and future generations will have to face - the idea of how much we allow technology and robotics to be involved in our everyday lives and the guidelines put in place that protects our privacy.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

McCabe EC Event: Noise Aquarium

Image
For my fourth and extra credit event, I attended the Noise Aquarium. This event was very insightful as well as relaxing. I learned that 80% of our oxygen is produced by plankton, and right now many countries are facing a crisis regarding lack of oxygen. The presenters explained how everyone's breath is connected to one another and that breathing is essential for life. After the background information was given, we were invited to all take a few minutes to breathe, meditate, and practice mindfulness. In these moments, there was a satisfying video playing of the ocean and sea life. The video was a demonstration of how art, or a visual display, can represent the earth and the beings within. The video was very relaxing to watch. Along with visual images, the produces created a soundtrack to the video of calming ocean noises along with breaths. This was interesting because it proved the combination of technology and art to create such noises for meditation. Overall, this event was very ...
Read more

McCabe Week 9: Space + Art

Image
This week's lectures, guest speaker, and readings were all about space and its relation to art. I already find space very fascinating so this week was a lot of fun to learn more about the subject and how art is involved. Space is a very complicated topic since everything that we study in it is so far away. I found the "Powers of Ten" video very engrossing because it demonstrates how far away things like planets and stars actually are to us humans on Earth. It is hard to wrap my head around how most of the things we know are from assumptions or calculations based off of assumptions, but many of our theories cannot be proved until we further explore outer space.  I also love the idea behind space being portrayed in science fiction movies and books. The lectures mention that many ideas that have potential are often brought about in stories, and later on other scientists adopt these ideas. One example of this is the space elevator that Arthur C. Clark writes about in his nove...
Read more

McCabe Week 1: The Two Cultures

Image
This week’s articles’ focus is the idea behind two cultures: intellectuals and scientists. Moreover, the scientists are described as being mainly physical scientists who are more practical, versus the creative intellectual artists. Snow believes that the two are polar opposites and that because of their differences there is a “practical and intellectual and creative loss,” to our society (Snow 12). Snow later states how it would not be fair to only make two categorized cultures, and mentions a third consisting of more contemporary scientists in the middle ground.   From my own experience, I have noticed this divide between the sciences and arts. From a young age as early as elementary school, my classmates and I declared whether we preferred a language arts or math class. From there on I have noticed people around me getting deeper into educational specialization which Snow discusses where some students lose their creativity in the science path, but the other students may never ful...
Read more