This book was arranged very differently then the other assigned readings. This book consists of different essays by different theorists.
The first section of reading talks about the history and progression of the computer. It is so interesting to be able to read about the background of technology that we use daily, having heretofore not thought “twice” about its history. Janet H. Murray meticulously describes the background and the development of the internet, search engines, games, and “anything else” that had to do with the development of the computer and its counterparts. I was extremely interested in Murray’s statement: “The critics of technology are an important part of the development of a new medium because they challenge us to identify more clearly what we find so compelling about it, why we are so drawn to shape this new clay objects that have not existed before (8).” Although I have not previously studied the theory or the history of the computer, I have grown up in the age and time of computers and have always used some type of advanced technological equipment.
It is particularly interesting to think about the theorists of the 1960’s and 1970’s molding the population’s views and opinions of the new and future technology entering the public’s soon-to-be-everyday-life. Whereas, I was born into an age where computers were already “second nature” and accepted by society.
Marshall McLuhan writes much about society and the process of technology entering and involving itself into the activities of society. “Cotton and oil, like radio and TV, become fixed charges on the entire psychic life of the community. And this pervasive fact created the unique cultural flavor of any society (209).” McLuhan believes that technology is “extensions” of us and that all technology has its predecessors. McLuhan follows the idea of predecessors: “The content of writing is speech, written word is the content of print, and print is the content of the telegraph (203).” It is important to see the time of and the entrance of these technological advancements into the public and to see the way society then reacts to these advancements. McLuhan believes that people are comfortable with the past and afraid of what is going to come in the future, which thereby creates fear: Fear of new technologies and the fear of what is to subsequently result from these technologies.
Experimentation with the technologies has a lot to do with the advancement of technology and its relationship to the art world. “In the same way as a scientific experiment can never fail, this experiment in art could never fail (213).” This quote really resonated with me as it confirms that experimentation in the development of science is never a failure and, likewise, the implications of experimentation with art should also not be considered a failure. I think it is extremely important to not only keep the concept of experimentation in mind while working in the field of art but also to adopt it to the creation of art. Sometimes, in my own work, I have been scared of constant experimentation while in the midst of the process of producing my art work. My fear becomes that I will ruin the piece of art that I am then working on. Instead, I should adopt the theory that experimentation helps both me and the process itself and therefore the end-result. I should not become obsessed with the potential outcome of the art work created by my self-imposed doubt while experimenting during the creating of the piece of art.
John Cage wrote, “the technical problems involved in any single project tend to reduce the impact of the original idea, but in being solved they produce a situation different than anyone could have pre-imagined (215).” This quote also helps me feel better about how I look at my own art and validates my own search for excellence through experimentation and the changes of direction occurring during the creative process.
Before I try to tackle any new art project, I try to conceive the concept and plan-out what I want to compose. I want to use technology and not have technology use me. Yet, since I am often dealing with new programs and advanced technology, there always exists an element of the “unknown.” An individual artist can choose either of two options: to totally disregard the “unknown” or allow the “unknown” to help develop his or her piece further. Previously, I used to try to disregard and not use the “unknown” as part of the creative process, but now that I am dealing with more technological programs in fields varying from audio to video to print, I try to release those “unknowns” into the piece so that whatever unknown journey is taken can help strengthen my final creation and take me and it down roads previously unexplored. In other words, although the search or evolution that takes place in creating the piece of art started out in a definitive manner, it becomes detouring and meandering as the work progresses. Both the process and the ultimate result itself evolves or develops during the journey of creating the piece of art. Creating becomes “experimentation” at its best.
