Do robots dream of electric art? part 1

This is the first of an irregular series of posts sharing the robot theme. The theme of this post: Artists who use robots in their art.

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I have always been fascinated with the idea of robots, a fascination that probably stems from my early childhood exposure to robotic toys and movies. I have vivid memories of a toy robot that could walk slowly via remote control while shooting ping-pong balls from its fists and launching rockets from the top of its head. Of course, books such as I, Robotby Isaac Assimov, and Piers Anthony’s Apprentice Adept series, only fed the flames.

Of course the reality of mechanical creations that can think and are self-aware is still distant. But the concept raises intriguing questions: What is the relationship between creature and creator? What is the nature of self-consciousness, both human and mechanical? Are robots “alive”? 

“Robot” defined from Wikipedia:

The word robot was introduced by Czech writer Karel Čapek in his play R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots) premiered in 1920 (its robots were biological in nature, corresponding to the modern term android). However, Čapek named his brother Josef Čapek, a painter and a writer, as the true inventor of the word. The word is derived from the noun robota, meaning “forced labour, corvée, drudgery” in the Slovak language and being the general root for work in other Slavic languages.

Tin Toy Robot Art Prints
Karl Egenberger is a tin toy robot and space toys collector and enthusiast and illustrator of vintage robots.  Flashy Jim illustrates a toy robot produced by the Sankei SNK Corporation in the mid-1950s.

Flashy Jim by Karl Egenberger 

Bennett Robot Works
Gordon Bennett creates robot sculptures made from a mixture of found objects, both old and new. The robots are found on display at City Foundry in Brooklyn, NY.

Artist Javier Téllez’s This is Tomorrowtakes the form of a toy robot parade. Staged in Lower Manhattan, 500 battery-operated robots, each less than a foot tall, walked the block holding placards written in collaboration with mental health patients during a series of workshops with the artist over a one-month period. This collaboration has been part of Téllez’s artistic practice since the 90s in exhibition from the 2001 Venice Biennale to the Bronx Museum.

Artist Javier Téllez’s This is Tomorrow

Thomas Edwards is a technological artist. His work seeks to explore the interface between people and electronic machines, often by encouraging true interaction between them. [(robo baby)] combines the best of natural genetics and robotic technology.

[(robo baby)] by Thomas Edwards

Stay tuned for Part 2: Robots that create art.    

~TAB

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