Mechanization has changed art forever

 For good or bad, mechanization has changed art forever

The topic of mechanization and robots in this week's lectures fascinated me for many reasons! It dealt with art's interaction with this revolution and observed it behave similarly to other aspects of life - initial insecurity followed by realization of the collaborative benefits. 

 

With the second industrial revolution, the initial insecurity was of potential unemployment, followed by the realization of the opportunities for growth and more jobs. Similarly, the printing press, initially in China in 1040, and notably onwards from Guttenberg’s printing press made sections of the art world insecure about the ability to copy and circulate the art. Did it undervalue the original? Has the purpose been defeated? 

 

 

More recently with the blending of biology and machines, we have robots invading all aspects of life now. Funnily enough, the idea of a humanoid robot originated in the artistic temple of expression, the theater. Political manifestos around the world now have to factor how much they want to embrace robotics and digitization, because of the apparent risk that it could harm livelihoods of the people. An important question then would be if political opposition is against robots, and progress, or a defense of insecurity.

 

 

I would argue that both art and modern leaders are better off embracing the opposite, and therefore agree with Davis and Benjamin, that the benefits are in the form of new opportunity, scale, and exclusivity. Mechanization and technological progress enabled audio visual art forms to flourish, which does not undermine art forms like painting as they are exclusive.

With the digitization and reproduction of art hitting near perfect standards, it seems like we have a million of every one piece. I don’t think that takes away any value, and on the contrary, emphasizes the value of the original as even more historic, economic, and exclusive! Similarly with the wave of robotics, the recreation of the human form to serve our function is an artistic expression of modern engineering. An example going forward could be the collaborative creations of robot and man. The avenues of collaboration I think it opens up are a positive step for all spheres of life as it is a testament to united progress. 

 

 

Sources

1. Walter Benjamin's the work of art in the age of mechanical reproduction. (2018). https://doi.org/10.4324/9781912284894 

2. Davis, D. (1995). The work of art in the age of digital reproduction (an evolving thesis: 1991-1995). Leonardo, 28(5), 381. https://doi.org/10.2307/1576221 

3. Roos, D. (2019, August 28). 7 ways the printing press changed the world. History.com. Retrieved April 15, 2022, from https://www.history.com/news/printing-press-renaissance 

4. Gomez Cubero, C., Pekarik, M., Rizzo, V., & Jochum, E. (1AD, January 1). The robot is present: Creative Approaches for Artistic Expression with robots. Frontiers. Retrieved April 15, 2022, from https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frobt.2021.662249/full 

5. Avent, R., Scola, N., Vinik, D., White, J. B., Sitrin, S. S. and C., & Gerstein, B. M. and J. (n.d.). How robots will break politics. POLITICO Magazine. Retrieved April 15, 2022, from https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/01/05/robots-politics-automation-technology-216220/