Most
technological advances all start from ground zero, which not all people think
of ground zero being an artist. The first thing I thought about to represent
this relationship was the development of cars. Anything we use today in the “robot
world” for example cars, comes from a sketch and from that comes robotic
engineering. I thought that this quote was very interesting, “Artful automobiles are all about the symbiosis of man and
machine, and not just about basic transportation.” It’s amazing to me
how much of the behind the scenes work that is put into final products we
forget about. After listening to this weeks lecture on robotics and art I began
to understand and appreciate the everyday things that we use being not only a
part of technology and robotics but also a whole different world of art.
In
this week’s lecture, Professor Vesna talked about that in many ways art has
directly influenced the creation of new forms of technology, which until this
week I usually thought about it the other way around with all the different
advances in the art world due to technology. The thing that I found most
interesting was mass production and how it affects the art world and the
concept of authenticity.
Although many
good things come from this relationship, Walter Benjamin points out that is has
actually hindered the art world in the essense of authenticity. Authenticity is
prized in the art world because authenticity holds its value and now due to
technology it’s very easy to duplicate originals making the prices depreciate.
Douglas
Davis goes on to discuss the same idea of the relationship between and original
and a replica in his thesis, saying that the distinction between the two is
getting smaller and smaller due to digital reproduction. “There is no clear
conceptual distinction now between original and reproduction in virtually any
medium based in film, electronics, or telecommunications. As for fine arts, the
distinction is eroding, if not finally collapsed” (381).
John Myatt’s “Girl with a Pearl Earring” (top left) is a copy of Vermeer’s original (top right). Han van Meegeren’s “The Procuress” (above right) is a forgery of Dirck van Baburen’s 1622 painting (above left).
"Art Forgeries in the Spotlight at Springfield Museum Show
- The Boston Globe." BostonGlobe.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2015.
"THE PERFECT CAR." Brandpowder. N.p., n.d. Web.
19 Apr. 2015.
"Welcome to Econs-land! Where Dreams Come True!" Welcome
to Econs-land! Where Dreams Come True! N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2015.
Sources:
"Authenticity
in Art." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2015.
Benjamin, Walter. The Work of Art in the Age of
Mechanical Reproduction. London: Penguin, 2008. Print.
Davis,
Douglas. “The Work of Art in the Age of Digital Reproduction.” The MIT Press,
1995. Web. 18 Apr 2015.
<http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/1576221?uid=3739560&uid=2&uid=4&uid=3739256&sid=21101286048881>.
Nick.
"Art of the Automobile: Can Cars Be." Mind over Motor. N.p.,
04 June 2011. Web. 19 Apr. 2015.
Vesna, Victoria. “CoLE.” CoLE. N.p.. Web. 18 Apr
2015. <https://cole.uconline.edu/~UCLA-201209-12F-DESMA-9-1
I too think that it is amazing how far robotic has come especially when thinking about cars. It's really cool to think about how simple the first cars were and how now there are cars that can literally drive themselves. Until this week I did not realize just how much robots that are used in mass production influence the way the world functions today. There is no way the human race would be as advanced as it is now without the help of robots.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was great how you elborated on the immense connection between art and technology in today's automotive scene. The fact that we are on the cusp of self driving cars only increases this relationship. The modern automobile represents the seamless balance between the two. As one grows the other must grow at the same rate in order to appeal to the ever changing capital market.
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