Cyborg...its the new fad

There are various forms of art, all of which have their own techniques, intricacies, and complications. However, with time, a new art form has developed with the advent of technological advances. Such development has changed not only how artists go about capturing their inspiration but also how they view their art.

It has only been within the past century that art has entered the cyber realm with the creation of computers. This new tool has allowed us to explore our abilities to capture and create life. This life, the life of art, is unique to the genre in that it is capable of encompassing more techniques and utilizes more of the senses than any other medium.

Accompanying the artists new found curiosity with technology is controversy surrounding the validity of such artistic creations. Such movies as Blade Runner, Total Recall, and 2001 Space Odyssey are wonderful examples of the new types of questions arising from technological creativity. The depiction of worlds where technology has started to take on a life of its own is certainly an interesting thought; however, the constant increase of innovation and advancement perhaps implies that these worlds are not too far off.

In fact, if you look at how telekinetic art is created and what it is essentially, you start to wonder what can and cannot be considered art or who is the artist? Roy Ascott, author of “Is There Love in the Telematic Embrace?” further explains telematics in that “The individual user of networks is always potentially involved in a global net, and the world is always potentially in a state of interaction with the individual.” So if the artist does not retain the full rein of artistic direction then is he really the sole artist or is the machine he utilizes also an artist?

Another potential answer to this very complicated issue is that perhaps people are turning in cyborgs, a cross between human and technology. There is some validity to this in art because if you look at Telematic art, you see that if it wasn’t for technology, many pieces of art could not have been conceived. Just by taking photos you become a cyborg. With digital camera’s you do not have complete control over your creation. The digital camera determines what setting, how much light exposure, etc when it takes the picture. This takes much of the artistic quality of creation away from the living artist.

An example of this loss of control can be seen in the class situational tours. The students had full control over what their subject and composition would look and sound like; however, when they took the photos, all they could do was aim the camera or cell phone and push a button. The quality of the photo was out of our hands and placed into the realm of the digital world.
This interesting art form has many intricacies and complications which lead to many questions as to its validity as an art form. Essentially, this subject must be assessed by each individual artist depending on their definition of art and humanity.