Week 3: Robotics + Art

Image Credit: (Labrooy, 2014)

Week 3 covered a variety of topics in industrialization, mechanization, knowledge production, robotics, and their relationship to art. Most fascinating to me was learning about the effects of mechanization on the world of art. By broad definition, mechanization is a transition from human powered labor to mechanized labor for the same of similar tasks. When applied by the artist, mechanization has produced a wide array of different types of artistic pieces from kinetic sculptures to robots with varied purposes. A prime example of mechanized beauty can be found in the works of David C. Roy who produces kinetic sculptures meant to soothe, relax, and amuse. 

 

Video Credit: (wired, 2020)

 Mechanization has also led to the creation of art with purpose as seen in the works of Theo Jansen who produces machines he calls "Strandbeests" whose purpose is to spread sand along the dunes of the Dutch coastal regions to preserve the beaches.

 

Video Credit: (Jansen, 2017)

Works such as those by David C. Roy and Theo Jansen highlight the importance of using a progressive lens to view the importance of art as proposed by Benjamin Walters. Specifically, when considering Jansen's Strandbeests, It is hard to categorize into either the Cult-value of art or the exhibition-value of art that Benjamin proposed in his essay "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction." The industrialized society of today has evolved beyond these limited conceptions and as as society, is now able to produce mechanized and reproducible works of art that contain both aura and purpose. The Strandbeests could represent a beautiful way to preserve coastlines around the world.

Media Credit

Labrooy, C. (2014). Transport for London. Behance. photograph. https://www.behance.net/gallery/25803571/A-Yummy-Curated-Gallery-2014-?utm_medium=email&utm_source=transactional&utm_campaign=project-published.

Theo Jansen. (2017). Strandbeest Evolution 2017. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LewVEF2B_pM.

Wired. (2020). How This Guy Builds Mesmerizing Kinetic Sculptures | Obsessed | Wired. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROP45rjvOHg&t=9s.

Resources

Benjamin, W. (1936). The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. 

Beschizza, R. (2017, June 4). The Kinetic Wood Sculptures of David Roy. Wired. https://www.wired.com/2006/11/the-kinetic-woo/.

Jansen, T. (2020). Strandbeest: Home. Strandbeest. https://www.strandbeest.com/.

Roy, D. C. (2018). David C. Roy. https://www.woodthatworks.com/.

UC Online. (2012). Robotics pt2. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAZ8bo9T_Pk&t=260s.