Week 3: Robotics and Art

Last week, I explored the intersection between math, science and art which highlighted the importance each field plays with respect to another. Tracing through the history of industrialization from the first printing press by the Chinese in 1040 to the discovery of electricity by Nikola Tesla, breakthroughs in technology have revolutionized societal interactions and our daily lives (Vesna). Technological breakthroughs gave humans the luxury to dream of creative inventions such as the robot, which was actually an "idea that came out of the theatre" (Vesna).

The power of technological and scientific ideas in art is demonstrated by Frank Malina who creates incredible kinetic paintings inspired by the dynamic essence of reality. As stated in his website, Malina "profits from his deep knowledge of astronomy, physics and other sciences that reflects in his ideas" (Malina). Malina shows how the theoretical knowledge obtained about optics, light, and astronomy through scientists such as Einstein, Tesla, and Faraday can be utilized to create meaningful works of art not possible centuries ago.

Source: Frank Malina, Away from the Earth, Lumidyne system, 1965

Fast forward to the 21st century, robots are used in a wide variety of applications ranging from manufacturing, surgical applications, and even in creating artistic sculptures. The video below demonstrated a fascinating robot capable of creating structures out of marble similar to Michelangelo.

Source: Robots used to carve out marble sculptures by CBS Mornings

Walter Benjamin, in his book "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction," has a pragmatic view on such technologies and reproduction of arts. Benjamin argues that due to the change in the nature of artwork brought about by technological reproducibility, modern artworks are deprived of 'aura' and these modern technologies eliminate 'all semblance of art's autonomy' (Benjamin p. 28). Furthermore, Ministère de la Culture held an "Artists & Robots" exhibition showing the evolution of robotic art but issued a warning stating:

"Although Artificial Intelligence can help us, it also threatens to make itself our master by reducing humans to simple slaves to performance"

Much of industrialization is tagged as responsible for many of the issues plaguing the world. For example, the industrial revolution is often credited with being a leading contributor to global warming and emissions. The invention of the printing press was also seen as re-inventing human behaior as detailed by Marshall McLuhan in his book the Gutenberg Galaxy. Robots are the next big concern since they are feared to be replacement for humans. 

I wanted to end my blog by focusing on a Japanese robot which taught me about the consequences of wrong human actions and behaviors. The animated show Doraemon illustrated the points made by Professor Kusahara and Vesna on how the Japanese view robots as a friendly companion rather than a replacement. This article by Lestada details how influential Doraemon has been in this regard and ties into why robotics and art, in my opinion, are a perfect combination and not detrimental to one another.

Source: "What a Robotic Cat Taught Me About Humanity" by Bintang Lestada

References:

Benjamin, Walter. “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction.” Edited by Hannah Arendt. Translated by Harry Zohn, Marxists.org, Schocken/Random House, Feb. 2005, https://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/philosophy/works/ge/benjamin.htm.

Design, Wense® Interactive. “Artworks Chapter 3.” Frank Malina, www.frankmalina.com/en/artworks.

Lestada, Bintang. “What a Robotic Cat Taught Me about Humanity.” VICE, 27 Sept. 2017, www.vice.com/en/article/qvjzzp/what-a-robotic-cat-taught-me-about-humanity.

Ministère de la Culture. “Artists & Robots.” Exposition Au Grand Palais Du 5 Avril Au 9 Juillet 2018, Ministère De La Culture, www.grandpalais.fr/en/event/artists-robots.

Vesna, Victoria, and Machiko Kusara. Professor Machiko Kusahara on Japanese Robotics. BruinLearn, UCLA, https://bruinlearn.ucla.edu/courses/129896/pages/unit-3-view?module_item_id=4852504. Accessed 15 Apr. 2022.

Vesna, Victoria, director. Robotics +Art | Lecture Part 2. BruinLearn, UCLA, https://bruinlearn.ucla.edu/courses/129896/pages/unit-3-view?module_item_id=4852504. Accessed 15 Apr. 2022.