Four One Four Thought: I Still Love Technology, but not as much as you, you see

January 22, 2008

I Still Love Technology, but not as much as you, you see - Kip

When I think of Technology, I do not think of the internal combustion engine, let alone the locomotive, the trebuchet, the aqueduct, the iron plow, the stone ax or the wheel. All of which, at some point revolutionized the way that humans interacted with the world around them and with each other.

Technology is inextricably linked to art in my mind. To clarify, technology hasn't come into its own unless it is, or aids in the creation of something that is aesthetically pleasing. Most often, it begins as something that is used to perform a given task more efficiently, but the unsexiness of efficiency soon wears off and humans begin to desire beauty from the object. How long was it before the iron sword, once the latest and greatest in the field of metallurgy, bored its owner to the point of inscribing his initials into the blade and inlaying gems into the hilt? Similarly, how long did it take before the computer, nothing more than a complex system of data storage and transmission, was used in the creation of art, both sonic and visual?

Shine a light on the tree. Give me something beautiful.

Posted by johlinco at January 22, 2008 05:43 PM

Comments

Indeed; even the architecture, the structure of the digital devices themselves hs become more aesthetically resonant. Patterns can be so pleasing that they are sought --"evidence" of patterns no matter what is explored or where.

Metaphor becomes a pattern-locator that perhaps is part magic wand in the beauty of the tethering, beauty that extends because metaphor tends to build beyond necessity, beyond mere function, and pads spirit, even lust after such padding and enhancement, the saturation of color, sound, smell, texture, so these features become more pronounced, and existence is tasted.

Here is a link (http://www-personal.umich.edu/~thyliasm/limitedforkmusic/IWantToBeWithYoungAnstedMusicEDIT.mp3) to an audio version of my picture book that was published quite a few years ago. The audio is from 2002 or 2003. It is about, among other things, tasting existence. Technology enabled this audio version.

--And the picture of the tree/lamp interaction/convergence.

Posted by: thyliasm at March 11, 2008 06:24 AM