Robotics + Art

 

This week’s lecture was very interesting because it delved into the connection between industrialization and the rise of robotic & computer art and technology. Dr. Vesna explains that with the scientific and industrial revolution, there was a rise in adapted technology that influenced inventions such as the printing press, machineries, automobiles, etc., that completely revolutionized the way people began to see the world.

With so much mass production of machineries such as the printing press, it truly innovated and changed the way media could be consumed. It was no longer the elite and upper class who could access printed texts, but with the invention of a machine that could mass produce at once, it allowed for greater access of information to a greater audience. 

Although the mass production of texts allows for information to be more accessible to the public, Walter Benjamin believed that “art (including texts) holds an aura that represents the uniqueness and authenticity of itself.” By mass producing the art, it loses its value because it is no longer original–it is mass produced, therefore it changes the way in which the art may be perceived by the public. I agree that artworks such as paintings cannot be replicated through services such as digital printing, however, I do not believe that a book loses its sentimental value when it is reproduced. 

In addition, without the inventions of mechanical reproduction such as the printing press, much of scientific and technological innovations would have been slowed down. I have always learned that through collaboration leads to higher productivity. Our society responds to industrialization with knowledge production quite more frequently than we may expect. Without having access to texts that many authors centuries ago have written, as a society we would not have as many groundbreaking inventions that shape the existence of the world we live in. In addition, the expansion of education and knowledge would not have progressed as much if each school only had a limited amount of texts vs. many schools today having hundreds of copies of textbooks to allow knowledge to be accessible for all students.  

Cited Sources

Benjamin, Walter. The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. 1936. 

Karpov, Alexander O. “Education in the Knowledge Society: Genesis of Concept ...” INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL & SCIENCE EDUCATION, files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1119352.pdf. Accessed 20 Apr. 2024. 

Vesna, Victoria. “Industrialization, Robotics, Kinetic, Robotic Art.” DESMA 9, April 2024, Los Angeles, UCLA

Vesna, Victoria. “Robotics, Part 2.” DESMA 9, April 2024, Los Angeles, UCLA

Vesna, Victoria. “Robotics, Part 3.” DESMA 9, April 2024, Los Angeles, UCLA

Photo Reference Links

Printing Press: https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=http%3A%2F%2Fushistoryimages.com%2Fprinting-press-invention.shtm&psig=AOvVaw3GVOb1cIezdaskLYY6_uvc&ust=1713672275784000&source=images&cd=vfe&opi=89978449&ved=0CBIQjRxqFwoTCPjb0_b0z4UDFQAAAAAdAAAAABAQ

Ford Car: https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fcorporate.ford.com%2Fabout%2Fhistory%2Fcompany-timeline.html&psig=AOvVaw3wKCEwbDnfS0aSSPvj-S-a&ust=1713672469348000&source=images&cd=vfe&opi=89978449&ved=0CBIQjRxqFwoTCOiuzMj1z4UDFQAAAAAdAAAAABAE

Textbooks: https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.kut.org%2Feducation%2F2014-11-21%2Fhow-exactly-does-texas-approve-public-school-textbooks&psig=AOvVaw2VEezaGOKO2su-HA76tKmG&ust=1713672946908000&source=images&cd=vfe&opi=89978449&ved=0CBIQjRxqFwoTCLDgya33z4UDFQAAAAAdAAAAABAK