Technology and Art

As tools, materials, and people evolve, so does art. With the almost complete interaction of the senses that technology can provide, art has found a new medium: 'telematics.' For instance, the 'Spiderman' ride at Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure combines the senses of sight, sound, and touch for an entertaining and thrilling experience. This can also be seen with the exhilarating Mori, which emulates a real life earthquake. Roy Ascott claims that "the ubiquitous efficacy of the telemamtic medium is not in doubt." (Ascott 335) Due to the nature of technology, telematic art is more available and accessible than any other type of art.

For instance, my own Situational Tour has brought out my own interest in art via technology. Usually, I am content not mingling with cameras, but now, through this project, I am much more inclined to pick up photography. This project has allowed me to express my personal ideas, with photography to amplify it. This project has fueled my interest in film as well.

Film plays a big role in technology, both in what it provides in itself and what it depicts (relationship-wise) of man and technology. In George Lucas' first film, THX II38, mans quest for efficiency leads to a bureaucratized society where every man is forced to shave his head, which represents the loss of self-identity. Technology's power and influence rises, whereas man's is greatly regressed. In another film, 2001: a space odyssey, the artificial intelligence HAL 9000 helps bring many dark questions to light. Will our dependence on technology, and the need enhance it, become so great that we cannot live without it? Or worse, will it be given such intelligence that it will become its own lifeform and render the human race obsolete?