Week 3 | Robotics & Art | Maya Srinivasan

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Society's response to industrialization is widely divided. While some may argue that the changes brought by this phenomenon are necessary for societal evolution, others say that it results in a loss of individuality (Blokhin). When speaking about industrialization/mechanization and their effects on art, there has been some controversy as to how authentic art pieces can truly be when they can be easily duplicated. 

Drawing of Johannes Gutenberg's printing press

As Professor Vesna states in her lectures, the creation of the printing press was the beginning of industrialization, with pieces of literature being duplicated and spread at much higher rates than ever seen before.  In terms of artwork, a similar occurrence has happened due to mechanization. Pieces of art were originally created through rituals, similar to how literature was made before the printing press. Walter Benjamin notes that "when the age of mechanical reproduction separated art from its basis in cult, the semblance of its autonomy disappeared forever," describing the newfound ease of recreating particular pieces. Both art and literature are widely available to the masses, which is profoundly different from the pre-industrialization era. Creating artwork is no longer centered around individualistic rituals; rather, these pieces can now be easily shared and spread due to the advancement of technology. However, this begs the question of whether or not pieces of artwork are truly authentic after they have been replicated. 

The Mona Lisa showing reduplication 

The conversations regarding the authenticity and originality of art (due to its ability to be replicated) reminded me of an episode of Black Mirror episode titled "Be Right Back." In this episode, a woman mourns the loss of her late boyfriend and discovers she may have the ability to 'bring him back' via a robot. The robot uses artificial intelligence and the boyfriend's old text messages/social media posts to replicate the feeling of being with him, which results in a disturbing situation for the woman. Ultimately, the woman decides that the robot cannot truly encapsulate the essence of her boyfriend, and locks him away in her attic. Douglas Davis mentions auras of originality in his work, and I believe his statements are applicable in this case as he states, "here is where the aura resides - not in the thing itself but in the originality of the moment when we see, hear..." (386). Although technology is advancing rapidly, I do not believe that duplications of certain pieces can ever hold the same aura or essence as original works of art. 

Scene from "Be Right Back" where the woman meets her robotic 'boyfriend' 


References:

Anonymous. “Art...Mechanical Reproduction.” F O T O T I O, 4 Feb. 2013, https://fototio.wordpress.com/2013/02/04/week-1-again-art-art-art-art-art-art-art-art-art-art-art-mechanical-reproduction/. 

“Be Right Back.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 10 Mar. 2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Be_Right_Back. 

Benjamin, Walter. The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. 1935. 

Blokhin, Andriy. “What Are Some of the Drawbacks of Industrialization?” Investopedia, Investopedia, 8 Feb. 2022, https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/072815/what-are-some-drawbacks-industrialization.asp. 

Davis, Douglas. “The Work of Art in the Age of Digital Reproduction (an Evolving Thesis: 1991-1995).” JSTOR, vol. 28, no. 5, 1995, pp. 381–386., https://doi.org/10.2307/1576221. Accessed 2022. 

History.com Editors. “Printing Press.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 7 May 2018, https://www.history.com/topics/inventions/printing-press. 

IMDb. “‘Black Mirror’ Be Right Back.” IMDb, IMDb.com, 11 Feb. 2013, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2290780/. 

Vesna , Victoria, director. Robots and Art Lecture. YouTube, UC Online Program, Accessed 2022. 

Comments

  1. Vivek ChotaiApril 13, 2022 at 7:33 PM

    Hi Maya,

    I also watched that episode of Black Mirror! What an interesting and relevant episode to talk about! My interpretation of the episode was that the main character thought that a robot could not replace her dead boyfriend. And I think this makes us think about the idea if robots could really replace humans. In some ways, I think they can, like computers have as calculators. In ways to connect with humans on a spiritual level, I don't think robots can replace humans. This also reminds me of the video game "Detroit: Become Human." In this video game, humans have made functioning robots that they call androids, who essentially serve as slaves for humanity. In one ending of the game, the androids end up developing empathy and revolting against the humans once they see the way humans treat one another. I wonder if a society full of robots would even have discrimination or unfairness. It may be more just than ours is today.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Alexandra ChanApril 17, 2022 at 2:37 PM

    Hi Maya! Thank you for your thoughtful and intriguing post. Your perspective on the topic was very insightful, and very easy to understand. I really like the addition of the black mirror episode information at the end -- that show is the perfect modern day linkage to what we have studied this past week. While technology has a lot of power and ability to function like us, there is still a few things missing that has not been able to be replicated yet within robots.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Kabir RaoApril 18, 2022 at 3:22 PM

    Hi Maya,

    I completely agree with you that technology, despite any height of sophistication will not achieve the same significance as original art. Of course with digital art, this is still debatable as we go through a new phase for the industry. But this notion is what I believe the majority of the world sides with, which is the basis for why physical art pieces have the value they do today.

    ReplyDelete

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