Technology in Art

Technology is very powerful. It continues to significantly affect society each and every day. Many positive and negative things come out of the use of technology. In definition technology is the usage and knowledge of tools, techniques, and crafts or the system of these. It is the branch of knowledge of a discipline. Technology plays an important role in art especially. In the article "Life-Like" by Maria Fernandez, perspectives can be made concerning art and technology. For example Fernandez states "works of art should no longer be conceived as static autonomous entities but as evolving processes that unfold in relation to both the user and the environment" (558). I tend to perceive art as just that. Art is the process of deliberately arranging elements in a way to affect the senses. It is always evolving into something new and different. I believe art to be incredibly innovative, regardless of what type it is. Technology is similar to art in that it is constantly evolving.

Brian Massumi, a social theorist, shares ideas with Fernandez. Massumi's work focuses on perception, affect and the virtual. Massumi and de Landa "call for the development of a process-oriented art where the artist is the initiator of a process but is not in control of its outcome. This entails jettisoning ideas of art as object, as well as of the artist mastery and control of materials engrained in traditional conceptions of artistic practice" (Ferandez, 558). Massumi is an advocate for the emphasis of art being on the process first.

The article goes on to explain how artists have adopted techniques of artifical life into their work. "Works exhibit self-organization, evolution, and various forms of agency and interaction" (Fernandez). This is an essential part of contemporary art. Technology plays an important role in the development of contemporary art. It enables art to evolve into the future.