Technology is not an end; it is a tool. As such, there is opportunity for the use of technology to be re-imagined. Furthermore, the end created by the use of technology can be altered. What is required to create new ends is for someone to improvise. It took the likes of Steve Jobs and Bill Gates to recognize that machines that solved simple math problems and were the size of rooms might be useful to the average citizen. They were entrepreneurs. But what happens when an artist re-thinks how technology is used?
There are certainly plenty of examples to consider, different ways in which artists re-imagine and re-invent technology. In so doing, they can change our perception of what the world is, how the world operates, and why the world is the way that it is.
First comes the what – artists re-imagining the material qualities of technology. The cliché for this type of transformation is: “one man’s junk is another man’s treasure.” The artist implements the physical attributes of an object in new ways. It is the jewelry maker who sees bling in a circuit board. It is the sculptor that sees luscious curves in a crankshaft. The artist plays with our understanding of beauty. He plays with our perception of aesthetics. He plays with our interpretation of what the world is.
The second type of re-invention goes slightly deeper than the physical qualities of technology. The artist exploits how the technology works to create something beyond the original intent. It is the biker who uses GPS technology to track his path and draw hearts across the city. It is the photographer who seals all the light off in a room of a vacant property and uses it as a pinhole camera. The artist plays with our understanding of logic. He plays with our perception of science. He plays with our interpretation of how the world works.
The third area takes us beyond the how and looks at why. The artists not only uses the technology but turns the initial intent on it’s head. It is the genius that considers why Kodiak developed film with certain qualities that highlight white skin pigmentation and completely hide dark. The artist plays with our understanding of philosophy. He plays with our perception of humanity. He plays with our interpretation of how we live together.
Art has many values. Good art is work that helps us see things differently, it helps us see the beauty in the world in unexpected places. Good art is work that helps us understand how our world works or doesn’t work. Good art is work that encourages us to contemplate who we are and how we live together. Great art is work that likely captures all three and changes our lives.
