Week 3: Robotics + Art

The Age of Industrialization brought much change to the perception of art and art itself. With inventions such as the printing press and other machines that allowed art to be mass produced, art became much more universal and accessible to people outside of the elite class. As Walter Benjamin described in his essay The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, art became devalued through this mass production, and the authenticity of original art pieces became less important. This “aura” of art changed with mass-produced art.

Douglas Davis also describes the change in art with the introduction of the Digital Age. With machines, the ability to preserve art digitally is limitless – art does not change in shape or form (“The Work of Art in the Age of Digital Reproduction”). Additionally, in Professor Vesna’s lecture on Industrialization and Robots, there were many scientists who contributed to scientific advancements that allowed this mass and digital production of art to be available.

The rise of robots is a form of art expression that has received mixed responses by the world. In a 2007 TED Talk, Hod Lipson describes his experience with self-aware robots that have the ability to reproduce itself, and the responses to this new technology are met with not only awe but also fear that this artform will move from something inspiring to destructive.

Additionally, in a TED Talk by David Hanson in 2009, robots are shown to have emotion and are able to mimic human facial expression. The responses to these robots are also mixed, as the need for these kinds of robots seem to be unnecessary, as having conversations with humans are much more fruitful than ones with robots.

Thinking about the future, with the rise of robots and improved technology, makes me excited for new art forms grounded in science and technology, but also wary for the normalization of them, as robots may one day be mass produced and no longer unique, as Walter and Davis describe in their respective essays.

Sources:
Benjamin, Walter. “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction.” Illuminations. Ed. H. Arendt. New York, Schocken. 217–251.

Davis, Douglas. “The Work of Art in the Age of Digital Reproduction (An Evolving Thesis: 1991-1995).” Leonardo, vol. 28, no. 5, 1995, pp. 381–386. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/1576221.

Hanson, David. TED, Feb. 2009, https://www.ted.com/talks/david_hanson_robots_that_relate_to_you.

Lipson, Hod. TED, Mar. 2007, www.ted.com/talks/hod_lipson_builds_self_aware_robots.

Onojeghuo, Clem. “Bargain Hunter.” Bargain Hunter, 6 Mar. 2017, unsplash.com/photos/pTeZKi29EYE.

Vesna, Victoria. YouTube, 15 Apr. 2012, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRw9_v6w0ew.