Introduced by the guest lecturer, Machiko Kusahara, we were given a
perspective on the influences of art and public opinions on development of
technologies such as robotics. By
comparing the westernized and eastern ideas of what technology should develop
to, we begin to understand how popular culture leads to development of the
sciences. For example, in the united
states, robots are more focused on a purpose, either for manufacturing and repeated
work due to heavy influences of the industrial revolution; while, in Japan,
humanoid robots are craved, despite similar manufacturing needs. This was believed to originate from the
animation astro boy, which centers heavily around human-seeming (in emotion and
in function) robots, and led to the Japanese craving human-esque robotic aids,
despite the terrors of past technological warfare (nuclear bombs).
Further, to contrast with this is how technology has now begun to
effect art, we can read Walter Bnjamin’s The
Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction and Douglas Davis’s The Work of Art in the Age of Digital
Reproduction. Benjamin mentions that
“even the most perfect reproduction of a work of art is lacking in one element:
its presence in time and space…” While
this implies that replication does not provide the same artistic work as the
original, one can also presume that he might believe that reproduction allows
for the cheapening of art. Because
imitations are often accessible by multiple different routes (like the
internet, as shown below), does this imply that it is less beautiful and/or
powerful? This question is echoed in Davis’s work when he brings up that the
original and reproduction concepts are converging.
References:
Benjamin, Walter. “The Work of Art in Age of
Mechanical Reproduction.” Marxists. N.p.. Web. 18 Oct 2012
Davis, Douglas. “The Work of Art in the Age of
Digital Reproduction.” The MIT Press, 1995. Web. 19 Oct. 2012.
Imgarcade.com,.
'Gallery For > Astro Boy Manga Japanese'. N.p., 2015. Web. 15 Apr. 2015.
Marshall,
Colin. 'Read Free Digital Art Catalogues From 9 World-Class Museums, Thanks To
The Pioneering Getty Foundation'. Open Culture. N.p., 2015. Web. 15 Apr.
2015.
Uconlineprogram. “Robotics MachikoKusahara
1.” YouTube. YouTube, 14 Apr. 2012. Web. 19 Oct. 2012.
Hi Jing Gong,
ReplyDeleteI agree with your point about how robots in America are utilized for a more focused purpose such as manufacturing work due to the Industrial Revolution, but in the future, I believe the Western world will embrace and crave companion robots as well. This will occur especially with the advent of current movies such as Disney's Big Hero 6 (2014), in which Baymax, a healing robot, is portrayed as "Man's Best Friend", and that the idea of robots becoming human companions is being promoted towards younger generations. All in all, great post!
- Amanda Lim
UID: 204189841