Week 3: Robotics + Art


Image result for ceci n'est pas une pipeFollowing closely from the theme of math and art, this weeks lecture on robotics and art illustrated the incredible prospects that can come about from the merging of robotics and art. Dr. Vesna's lectures and Benjamin Walter's essay touch on the increasing role of mechanization and automation in the world of art since the introduction of the printing press and, more specifically, what we lose and gain from mechanization. Walter argues that while we may lose the "uniqueness" of a work of art - lost to the fact that it can be reproduced to detail by mechanical reproduction - art becomes less of a form of ritualism and more of a form of l'art pour l'art: art for its own sake. Furthermore, now a wider group of people are able to enjoy it and be inspired by it.


One of the exhibits I found interesting was the work of Ken Rinaldo, who used art to make social commentary on the rise and use of robots. Such is evident in his piece Drone Eats Drone - American Scream, which critiques the increasing use of drones in warfare and, by attaching the predator drone models to a roomba, lampoons corporations which sell household robots for contributing to the mechanization of warfare.





Image result for robot artistThroughout today's week I thought of the integration of robotics to actually create art itself, rather than art which merely portrays and comments on robots. I remembered Haytham Naywar's Collective Bread Diaries and the machine learning algorithm he created that allowed a computer to "learn" how to draw different types of bread. The prospect of machines becoming more and more capable to "learn" how to create art begs an interesting question: Who is the real artist, the robot or the programmer?

In addition, companies are already utilizing robots to create artwork on massive scales. Last weekend at the Coachella Music Festival in Indio, the company Intel launched 420 perfectly synchronized drones and, like a 3-dimensional marching band, performed an incredible light show right above the main stage during the band Odesza's performance. Not only did it dazzle the crowd and elevate the experience, it provided a glimpse of how robotics can be used for art and beauty.

Sources: 
Benjamin, Walter. The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. London: Penguin, 2008. Print.
Vesna, Victoria. “CoLE.” CoLE. N.p.. Web. 18 Oct 2012. <https://cole.uconline.edu/~UCLA-201209-12F-DESMA-9-1
“Drone Eats Drone: American Scream.” Ken Rinaldo, www.kenrinaldo.com/portfolio/drone-eats-drone-american-scream-2014/.
"COLLECTIVE BREAD DIARIES: A TASTE OF PROTEST.” UCLA Arts: School of the Arts and Architecture, arts.ucla.edu/single/collective-bread-diaries-a-taste-of-protest/.
Meadow, Matthew. “ODESZA Breaks New Ground with Live Drone Lightshow Over Coachella [VIDEO].” Your EDM, 16 Apr. 2018, www.youredm.com/2018/04/16/odesza-coachella-main-stage/.

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