Art is a Reflection of Artificial Life

For decades now, technology has been far surpassing the technique of the typical artist. With several artists, including myself stuck in the dimensions of the screen, it is hard to begin to dissect the devices which transmit visual information. Video Artists attempted this in the 70s and 80s, Paik/Abe and Rutt/Etra paving the way by hacking television sets and creating visual effects processors. Few shared their interest in the invisible world of electronics. Few artists are continuing this legacy, as most remain chained to a paintbrush and easel or pottery wheel. I’m not saying there isn’t a place in the arts for traditional techniques, but now it is imperative that we question the role of electronics in our lives as several youngsters stare into the screens of their devices, tuning out the environment around them in favor of a virtual existence. We should be making art with computers. Challenge the status quo of the software industry by inventing new ways of creating with electronics that can’t be purchased off the shelf. Corporations just upped the ante.

Over a year ago, I began a project called “The Tourist” which commented on the absurdity of the public’s gaze into mobile devices. What was a tongue in cheek attempt at Sci-Fi was actually reality in the making, as the video shorts documented the banter between an artificial intelligence named AL and myself. Now computer corporations are taking notice of the connectivity between people and their machines and one company named eviGroup has designed the very device that I mocked in The Tourist. This device is a touchscreen notebook with a 3D artificial intelligence named Seline10. We can now personify computers in a whole new way, beyond the cartoonish paper clip of Windows past. Human connectivity has now reached an all time low, as even secretarial jobs are threatened by machines who replace human workers.