Event Blog

The first event I attended was a series of talks on the topic of Eco Materialism and Contemporary Art. The main focus has been on the social and environmental issues and how are they being portrayed with modern arts. 



I arrived the auditorium while during the talk by Ms. Linda Weintraub was talking about the praying robots. It was a really interesting topic about Eco-Arts and was very closely related to our readings. Her key point was about technology advancement and human’s dependency on technology. Indeed, since the industrialization revolution, we have enjoyed so much benefits from the technology advancements and are believing in technology more blindly than ever. Robots are tireless and precise at work which make them a better choice than human. Under the current technology, we cannot employ robots to do everything. However, as technology continue to grow, more automation of industry will happen and eventually a full automation society may be achieved. What happen to us human by then? This has always been an intriguing question. Human need to “up-skill” in order to compete with robots. But in the full automation world, humans are less needed. The series of praying robots is a satire to the technology where, though being fancy(the robots can do much more than simple pray), technology is succumbing and will continue to succumb to us. Beyond the talk, many other art forms are also revealing this blindness on technology. For example, movies and TV shows like I Robots and Westworld are adopting this idea of robots’ self-realization which can potentially harm human for their own benefits. 



Next on, she also mentioned Jae Rhim Lee’s kimchi. Instead of being a polluter, by technology, human can become environmental friendly. In her project, she could grow healthy, pollutant-free kimchi using her urine and a complicated set of technologies. Being a neo-material artist, her works of art, like the praying robots, are distinct from the traditional arts that the public like me are more accustomed to. However, to me, this novelty in art is more eye-catching and can leave a deeper impression on me. Like what Kelly proposed, technology is the third culture that bridges both the science and art.





Another interesting speaker was Ms. Ursula Heise. Her topic was a lot more about environmental protection and preservation, especially on animals. The key figure she used was polar bears and how humans are using the different images of polar bears at different time. Back in the days


where polar bears are not list endangered, they are like the blood-thirsty beasts that heroes will defeat.

However, nowadays, if you google polar bear images, you will see only the cuteness and friendliness of them. The change comes with extinction. With more awareness on the danger of extinction, artist uses different images to portray the bears to instigate the different emotions of people, thus achieving the goal of conservation. This reminds me of this week’s reading by Benjamin Walter where he explained how politics are influencing art. The image of polar bear is a perfect example how art can dictate or heavily influence the general public. To illustrate her point, she showed us an advertisement of Nissan with a polar bear as the cast. By pleading for environment, it is a successful not only in advertising but also a TV art.




From this week's event, I can see clearer how our reading are related to the practising artists. Art is ever-transforming; it never fixes its form. But it always conveying the message of the artist to the audience. Just like this week's event, I was exposed to so many new and contemporary arts that I was unaware of before. More importantly, through the talks, I have a better understanding of ecocentric art and how the various art are working towards a common goal. 


References:

Benjamin, Walter. “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction”. London: Penguin, 2008. Print.
Brinded, Lianna. World Economic Forum. "This is how robots will change the future of work". https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/01/heres-how-robots-are-going-to-change-employment

Kelly, Kevin. “The Third Culture”. Science 13 February 1998: Vol. 279 no. 5353 pp. 992-993. Web.

Snow, C.P. “Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution”. New York: Cambridge UP, 1959. Print.
Squatriglia, Chuck. Wired. "How Nissan Made Its 'Polar Bear' Leaf Ad". https://www.wired.com/2010/09/video-how-nissan-made-its-cute-polar-bear-leaf-ad/

Violino, Bob. ZedNet. "The future of robotics: 10 predictions for 2017 and beyond". http://www.zdnet.com/article/the-future-of-robotics/







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