Although artificial intelligence is now an immense part of our daily lives, artists have been working with robotics for over one hundred years. According to professor Vesna, artists have been working with robots since the early 10's and 20's. Additionally, artists were the ones who envisioned the robotics relation to science. It is truly amazing to see how far artificial intelligence has come and the art that is created due to this new technology. Below is an image of Ai-Da, who is the first robot to paint like an artist. She draws and paints using cameras in her eyes, her AI algorithms, and her robotic arms. She even travels and exhibits her art all around the world.
https://www.ai-darobot.com/
In Walter Benjamin's book, he describes the process by which modern technological reproduction strips institutions and their iconic artworks of their aesthetic authority. Benjamin acknowledges the reality of artistic reproduction throughout history, although he suggests that mechanical reproduction introduced an entirely new and revolutionary change in the experience of artwork. Generally speaking, the essay continues to play a significant role in understanding how technology contributes to a deaestheticization of the artwork in modernity (Larsen 2003). It is interesting to me how he was already thinking like this in the 1930's. Walter argues that the work of art under mechanical reproduction shatters the aura by way of eliminating these substantiating traditions as it is inherently defined by a plurality of copies. The value of art is now determined by modern spectators and taken outside of the traditional storehouse of meaning and context; the museum (Johl 2018). Reproduced art images are appreciable for their exhibition value only, for the way they seek out and influence the audience, which is much different than before.
https://www.artdoc.photo/books/the-work-of-art-in-the-age-of-mechanical-reproduction
I really liked the artists from this week and it was intriguing to see their works using art and artificial intelligence. One artist created their own robot and one artist uses art and robotics to help nature. Artist Ken Rinaldo has a project that aims to create artificial seed pods that will be distributed by both planes and waterfowl into the permafrost and frozen tundra to allow the future reseeding of forests and fields (Rinaldo 2018). However, I did think Ken Feingold's work was a little creepy. Below is just an example of the weird things he creates.
https://www.kenfeingold.com/
Works Cited
Johl, Jas. “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction.” Medium, Medium, 31 Dec. 2022, https://jasjohl.medium.com/the-work-of-art-in-the-age-of-mechanical-reproduction-3b8b0cb21f22#:~:text=Benjamin%20argues%20that%20the%20work,by%20a%20plurality%20of%20copies.
Mellar, Aidan. “Da.” Ai, https://www.ai-darobot.com/.
Larsen, Erik. “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction.” Modernism Lab, https://campuspress.yale.edu/modernismlab/the-work-of-art-in-the-age-of-mechanical-reproduction/.
Rinaldo, Ken. “20180212_092516.” Ken Rinaldo, https://www.kenrinaldo.com/portfolio/crispr-seed-resurrection/.
Gomez Cubero, Carlos, et al. “The Robot Is Present: Creative Approaches for Artistic Expression with Robots.” Frontiers, Frontiers, 9 July 2021, https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frobt.2021.662249/full.
Hi Michael, it is indeed remarkable to see how much artificial intelligence has progressed, and it is surprising to learn that artists have been working with AI for quite some time. Additionally, your analysis of Walter Benjamin's book is thought-provoking and it sounds amazing that as early as 1930, he was already thinking about how technology contributes to the deaestheticization of artwork in modernity. Nevertheless, I still find it captivating to see how artists incorporate artificial intelligence into their works. Great post!
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