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Exercise 5.4
Does institutional critique presuppose an ‘insider’ audience requiring familiarity with artworld topics and issues or can it be understood by almost anyone spending an hour or two in a gallery?
Institutional critique is a genre of art that draws attention to the institutional framework of the art world. This can include the sale, display and value of art, the structures and commercial agendas that underlie art galleries, and the social, political, cultural and economic factors that determine what fine art is (Price: 2018). By examining some art work from this genre it is possible to determine whether a viewer would require ‘insider’ knowledge of the art world to understand it or if this type of art is accessible to all.
A movement that started in the 1960’s, artists such as Michael Asher and Hans Haacke started to question how neutral the museum, as an institution, was. In Untitled intervention (Fig 1.) Asher removed the partitioning wall in a gallery exhibition room to reveal an administrative area of the gallery normally unseen (Price 2018).
No prior inside knowledge of art would be required to understand that this was drawing attention to and revealing the behind the scenes inner workings of the running of the gallery. As a viewer though one would need some indication that this was actually an art installation or they might think that they had wandered into an empty room!
In the same year, Haans Haacke drew attention to the relationships that galleries/museums have with certain private individuals. In Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum Board of trustees (1974) , 7 panels of framed text revealing connections between a number of the trustees of the Guggenheim museum and the Kennecott Copper Corporation in Chile were revealed. (Bois et. al. 2004:547). The neutrality and morality of these unseen influential individuals were open for debate. The accessibility for the viewer understanding this artwork would be questionable. Firstly, framed text is not usually expected in an art gallery and secondly, one would have to have some prior knowledge of the political situation in Chile and the role and influence played by the trustees.
During the 1980’s artists such as Fred Wilson critiqued the institution through exhibitions such as mining the museum (1992). The installation critiqued the neutrality of the museum when exhibiting artefacts that underrepresented Black and Native American local history. If the viewer was a regular museum visitor they would notice that the artefacts and the placing of them were unusual. They enlightened the viewer in a new way that raised awareness of a more honest version of history. Wilson also exhibited Guarded View at the Whitney museum in 1991.
These black mannequins (with no heads) in museum guard clothing demonstrated the social inequalities experienced by the Black community within the art world. A Black person was more likely to work as an anonymous security guard or a cafe assistant than be an artist or a visitor to the gallery/museum (Price, 2018). Would the meaning behind Guarded View be accessible to the average gallery visitor? Perhaps this would require more thought and an awareness of Black and Minority Ethnic inequalities from the viewer.
Perhaps the most easily accessible art that critiques the institution is that of the Guerilla girls. This New York based activist group of anonymous female artists was formed in 1985. Their aim was to critique individuals and institutions within the art world that excluded or underrepresented women and minority groups (Dempsey, 2002:292).
With bright posters and statistics that highlight their critique of the institution (Fig 3.) any viewer can easily access the point being made by the Guerrila Girls. No insider knowledge of the art world is required as the facts are clearly stated and easily interpreted.
Conclusion
The genre of institutional critique does not require an audience to be familiar with art world topics and issues. However, some works (The Guerilla girls) are more accessible than others (Haacke). The aim of the works is to draw attention to the viewer the institutional structure and workings of the art world. The audience therefore needs to spend some time with the art work to enable a new way of looking and understanding. However, if the audience member is not open to new ways of looking and perhaps doesn’t consider the social, political and class issues in the wider society, they may struggle to see the significance of some of these pieces.
List of Illustrations
Fig 1. Asher, M. (1974) Untitled Intervention installation At: http://www.noshowmuseum.com/en/1st-a/michael-asher (Accessed 26/07/2020)
Fig 2. Wilson, F. (1991) Guarded View [wood, paint, steel and fabric] exhibited at the Whitney museum 1991 At: https://whitney.org/collection/works/11433 (accessed 27/02/2020)
Fig. 3 Guerrilla Girls (1989) Do women have to be naked to get into the Met. Museum? [print] At: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/guerrilla-girls-6858 (Accessed 27/07/2020)
Bibliography
Bois Y-A et al. (2004) Art since 1900. London and New York, Thames and Hudson
Dempsey, A. (2002) Styles, Schools and Movements. London, Thames and Hudson
Farago, J. (2019) Hans Haacke, at the New Museum, Takes No Prisoners in The New York Times 31.10.2019 At: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/31/arts/design/hans-haacke-review-new-museum.html (Accessed 27/07/2020)
https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/i/institutional-critique (Accessed 27/07/2020)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Institutional_Critique (Accessed 27/07/2020)
Price, N. (2018) Institutional critique – parts 1-4 Online video At: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujE6ntrJdHM
Exercise 5.2
What would be the significance of reversing the arrows in Barr’s chart? Make two columns – one ‘forwards’ the other ‘back.’ List as many relevant concepts as you are able to develop the contrast between the two columns. Feel free to ‘cheat’ with a thesaurus.
| Barr’s Chart Forwards | Barr’s chart Backwards |
| Neo-Impressionism (1886) Fauvism (1905) Expressionism (1911) Dadaism (1916) Surrealism (1924) | Surrealism (1924) Dadaism (1916) Expressionism (1911) Fauvism (1905) Neo- Impressionism (1886) |
By comparing the two columns, it is possible to see that going forwards through the chart suggests a move towards primitive art and that going backwards sees a reversal of this – from primitive to socialised or civilised. Neo-impressionist art was representative of the object with traditional perspective and often urban subject matter. There was a scientific and logical approach to optical colour mixing theories (Dempsey, 2002:27). In Fauvism and Expressionism, emotional content became more important, firstly in the viewer and then in the artist. Dadaism rejected reason an logic and the systems enforcing them, replacing them with anarchy and the irrational (Dempsey, 2002: 115). Art was an an idea, made from anything. Surrealism attempted to liberate the unconscious(Dempsey, 2002:153) and to revolutionise human experience (Tate online Accessed 22/07/2020). As a revolt against society, Surrealism was described as ‘thought expressed in the absence of all control exerted by reason, and outside all moral and aesthetic consideration’ (Breton 1924 cited in Dempsey 2002:151). Logic and reason were seen to block the natural human state accessed via the unconscious mind.
By reversing Barr’s chart, art moves from a primitive state (Surrealism) to a more logical and rational one (Neo-Impressionism). Going forwards, logic gives way to the primitive which is a reversal of how the human race has developed!
We could also view the reversal of the chart as moving from the internal world of the mind, passing through emotional states (Fauvism and Expressionism) to the external world (Neo-impressionism) -Visually passing from the unconscious world to the conscious one. It is almost as though (going forwards from conscious to unconscious) artists were trying to purify their art and find some deeper human truth.
Reflections
I wasn’t entirely sure that I understood the exercise above. I had no idea what concepts I was supposed to find and just had to go with what I observed when I reversed the chart. By reversing the charts some quite big concepts became apparent. By looking backwards and then forwards again I could see the transition of this period in art that moved towards rejecting social constructs and realities. By shedding conventions, the artists were moving back towards a more natural and primitive state. They were attempting to capture the pure human condition, residing in the emotions and the unconscious mind.
Bibliography
Dempsey, A. (2002) Styles, Schools and Movements Thames and Hudson:London
Tate online at https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms (Accessed 23/07/2020)
Tutor Feedback and Response to Part 4 and Assignment 4
 | Open College of the Arts |
| Tutor report |
| Student name | Lara Jobson | Student number | 519703 |
| Course/Module | UVC1Tutorial/video | Assignment number | 4 |
Overall Comments
In this section of the course you have worked with some complex ideas and engaged with them in a real way using critical thinking and analysis to evaluate and interpret. It shows that your confidence is growing and you have managed to traverse a good range of sources to help your understanding to grow and develop, so considering ‘difference’ and it’s varied aspects/applications recognised through discernment and accepting the complexities of it. Also, remaining open to ideas has enabled you to apply ideas and concepts to appropriate works and consider the 21c values from your position today. Well done.
Feedback on assignment Demonstration of technical and Visual Skills, Quality of Outcome, Demonstration of Creativity
Assignment:
You have considered the complex aspects of ‘difference’ and have defined this very well through application and through the articulation in the essay, meaning that your approaches to critical thinking are developing. You have recognised the nature of complex ideas and theories, and have used disparate sources to help you to navigate this (including lectures and so on on You Tube) This shows your developing research adeptness and ability to begin to articulate the ideas and application of ideas. It is good that you have used a wide base to gain understanding. Remember to be sure of the value of the source in terms of academic provenance, which you are doing, but just as a reminder as you move forwards.
Although the actual essay is clear and pragmatic, you have not used a rigorous method of referencing. We have discussed this and how you can remedy it.
OCA uses UCA’s Harvard Referencing guide which can always be found by Googling UCA Harvard Reference Guide.
Or you can click on the link here: http://webdocs.ucreative.ac.uk/Handbook-Harvard%20Referencing-1571674800035.pdf
In our tutorial we went back over the essay and looked at how and where you should reference fully.
This can then be applied to Ass3 and also to your blog posts for Ass4 and 5 in particular- if you have time go back over the posts for Ass3 and the essay. This will help you set up a firm base for your future courses as well. If you would like me to look at a sample just send me a fresh link and I will ‘pop’ in and have a look for you.
In your blog there are good examples that you have achieved such as:
Although you may want to attribute a page number?
The ref below needs to have the accessed date on attributed in the ref list- check this in the Harvard guide.
These are examples of instances where you can go back and just sure up, then attribute where you might not have in other instances.
The reason for this ‘combing through’ what you have already achieved, is that you need to show your good research and attribute your learning. Without this at assessment you will be falling short of academic standards.
I suggested making some sample references and putting them near your computer as a print out, so that you can readily refer to them as you are writing, rather than having to peel back. This will save you time and also means that you are questioning yourself as you are moving forwards.
In Ass4 the thinking around Wilson and difference is clear and articulated well as I have said above, but there are a couple of areas that you can develop.
- Be careful to both reference and define the use of synthesis at the start of the essay.
- It would be worth noting the social context that the work was made in in the 90’s (in brief), as it was a movement against- so this involved difference and the action of difference. This will help the conclusion to round up as well.
- Remember to write into and out of your quotes. Question the value of them to what you are writing about- how does the quote add to the argument or line of reasoning?
In your exercises I have picked up on a few examples so that you can go back and amend, applying the sentiment/observations to the work in Ass4 and going forwards into Ass5. This will help you to develop the critical writing aspects.
- Orphism/synthesis section is very clear, and I enjoyed reading this, the parts where you relate the colour to emotion needed some further unpacking but overall successful. Maybe just go back and add a paragraph explaining this interrelationship between colour and emotion from the Orphist perspective.
- There was a nice explanation in the Judas/Deleuze exercise (although it needs a ref for ‘monstrous’ the first time you use the word as it was a concept. Can you link monstrous to open out as to in what way was Deleuze was opposed? He described the effect like this because…
Below is a good paragraph as well, that is clear with good correlations made to Greenburg- you need to say what these comparisons consist of it you can- it is an interesting observation so make the most of it. (Ref Greenburg to here)
The relationship between background and figure creates an ‘indifferent difference’ (Olkowski, 1999) between contradictory and inseparable entities. Olkowski describes this as a ‘highly differentiated kind of pictorial space[s] that draws attention to the surface of the picture’. Comparisons can be made to Greenberg’s theory on modernist art where the emphasis was places on drawing attention to the flat surface of the canvas.
Sketchbooks Demonstration of technical and Visual Skills, Demonstration of Creativity
Learning Logs or Blogs/Critical essays Context
Concepts and ideas are developing in your sketchbook, keep going with this and enjoy the process.
Suggested reading/viewing Context
As you are considering painting for your next course a good read is Painting Now. Suzanne Hudson, and although not new it is pertinent.
A book for the summer- Summers of Discontent. The purpose of the Arts Today. Raymond Tallis. Bitter Lemon Press. Good read collated together by Julian Spalding. Paperback.
There is good review below.
Pointers for the next assignment
Remember to go back and sure up your references across the materials that we have discussed.
| Tutor name: | Michele Whiting |
| Date | 10 JULY 2020 |
| Next assignment due | 28th August 2020. 12.30 |
Response to Feedback
Overall, I am very pleased with the feedback from my tutor and it was really nice to chat and be able to ask questions over the face to face tutorial. My main prior concern was that I had not fully understood the theories of difference and so felt delighted when my tutor said that my ideas and interpretations were well thought out. As previously stated, I had struggled to interpret and fully grasp some of the theories on difference and spent a long time attempting to understand primary sources. I now know that if this is problematic in the future, I can look to secondary sources to assist my comprehension. Again, a good and well planned structure and use of illustrations helped me to articulate my ideas and construct a well presented assignment.
After looking through some paragraphs in Assignment 4 with my tutor, it became apparent that I had not been referencing accurately. I have thoroughly re-read the Harvard referencing guide and ensured that all the thoughts that were not my own have been referenced back to their source. In future I shall ensure that referencing is undertaken during note-taking to include page numbers so that I can easily reference my sources.
I shall amend Assignment 4 and then revisit my amended essay for part 3 to ensure it is referenced properly. My tutor has advised me to go back over my blog posts for part 4 and, if time permits, part 3 and ensure these are also referenced accurately.
Amendments to Assignment 4
All amendments are underlined. I was unable to date some of my references which led me to question the academic value of a few of my internet based sources.
Explore Fred Wilson ‘Mining the Museum’ and it’s possible interpretations in terms of difference. (no word count specified)
Introduction
The artist Fred Wilson was born in New York in 1954 and describes himself as of “African, Native American, European and Amerindian” descent. In the early 1990’s, The Contemporary Museum of Baltimore and Maryland Historical Society invited Wilson to create a museum installation in which he was given free reign of their collection and any archived objects with the opportunity to display them in any way he chose. The installation ran from 4th April 1992 to February 28th 1993 and mimicked the usual technique for museum displays – labels, wall texts, lighting, audio material yet his installation created a different experience for the viewer. The exhibition took place just before and during the violent unrest in Las Angeles following the killing of the African-American citizen -Rodney King.
The title of his exhibition ‘Mining the Museum’ can be interpreted in different ways and suggests a deliberate play on words. It could mean Wilson ‘mined’ the museum, perhaps with controversy, ‘mined’ the museum for hidden artefacts or literally made the museum his own (mine) (Garfield,1993). There are many different theories about ‘difference’ from philosophers throughout history. It is possible to interpret ‘Mining the Museum’ in terms of difference by looking at how Wilson managed to create a synthesis of black and white history (Hegel, 1817), indicated differences in power through selected objects (Hegel, 1807) and enabled a consciousness shift in the viewer by rejecting traditional museum categorisation (Deleuze, 1968) .
Synthesis of black and white history
The 19th Century philosopher G.W.F. Hegel (1817), argued that for the world to progress it required unification of two opposing or different forces. The thesis and antithesis would unite in the synthesis to provide a more balanced truth. This process would repeat infinitely as the synthesis became the thesis. Wilson was able to unite two opposing or different histories in ‘Mining the Museum’and create a new synthesis of the black and white history of Maryland.
The traditional exhibitions of the Maryland Historical Society museum focused on a mainly white past that excluded a whole history of African and Native Americans. Wilson retrieved forgotten and archived artefacts from these neglected people’s history and placed them in his installation (Halle, 1993:170). He was able to bring light to a ‘history and cultural presence that had been buried beneath layers of neglect and deliberate exclusion‘ (Halle, 1993:170). This burial of history and artefacts was now unearthed and presented in Wilson’s displays.
In ‘Metalwork 1793-1880’ (Fig 1.) Wilson placed two different types of metal-ware together in a display case. By surrounding slave shackles with silverware from wealthy white families of the 19th Century we are confronted with two different and opposing experiences of local history (Fig 1.). One history representing the white population – its wealth, exuberant luxury and superiority. The other representing the black, inferior and enslaved population forcibly taken from Africa and shackled in American life.
According to the Hegelian dialectic, the opposing and contradictory thesis (white, visible history) and antithesis (black, hidden history) were reconciled in ‘Metalwork 1793-1880’ to create a synthesis that gave Maryland’s history a higher level of truth. The two objects juxtaposed created tension for the viewer by illuminating the two experiences of Maryland history side by side (Ginsberg:accessed 20/06/2020)
In ‘Pedestals, Globe and Busts’, Wilson placed a gold and silver Globe bearing the word truth – an old trophy given to advertising clubs in the early 20th Century, between two sets of pedestals. On the left of the Globe were three empty pedestals labelled ‘Frederick Douglas’, ‘Harriet Tubman’ and ‘Benjamin Banneker’. All three were major African-American historical figures who at one time lived in Maryland. On the right of the globe were three pedestals that contained the busts of Henry Clay, Napoleon Bonaparte and Andrew Jackson. The three busts were of white political or military figures, none of which had any connection to the local history of Maryland. In this unity of historical people, the absence of the busts of significant local black historical figures indicates an invisible history running parallel to a visible white male history that was in a position to record its own version of history (Corrin 1993:306). The ‘Truth Trophy’ invites the viewer to see the truth about how history is recorded and portrayed by the institutions concerned. The weakness of recording an accurate history comparable to the weakness of advertising (Halle, 1993:171).
Differences in power
In his book ‘Phenomenology of Spirit’ (1807), Hegel wrote about the Master and Slave Dialectic that describes the power relationships between groups of people. In this relationship there is a superior and a subordinate group of people which can be based according to criteria such as race, gender or wealth. The Master is always independent, privileged and able to decision-make. The slave, however, is dependant, ignorant, controlled and alienated (Sadler, 2013:accessed 20/06/2020).
Wilson’s installation can be seen to have emphasised the differences in power experienced by the people of Maryland’s past. In terms of Master and Slave dialectic, Maryland’s history would have experienced opposing forces of superior and inferior people. The white population (master) were the privileged, decision makers with all of the power, wealth and control. The black Africans (slaves), and also the indigenous population were dependant, kept in ignorance and poverty with no power or influence.
The contrasting sizes and careful placement of objects by Wilson would have signified this power inequality to the viewer (Corrin, 1993: 309). In ‘Modes of Transport 1770-1910’ (Fig 4. ) the room was dominated by a large ornately decorated Sedan chair that was used to carry the powerful Governor Eden of Maryland during the 18th Century. (Fig.5)
Behind the Sedan chair and of a significantly smaller scale was a model of the Baltimore clipper that was converted to a slave ship after 1812. The visual impact of this very small model of a ship used to carry thousands of slaves and the large single seated chair suggested the power inequalities of the two groups. (Corrin, 1993:309) In ‘Metalwork 1793-1880’ (Fig 2.) the slave shackles themselves were placed in the cabinet in a way that suggests oppression. The objects could almost symbolize the bodies of the past – the black shackles crumpled on the ground with the ornate bright silverware encircling and dominating over the top of them.
Aristotle and Institutional categorisation
Prior to ‘Mining the Museum’ Wilson had created installations that drew attention to curatorial practices and the affect that these had on the viewers interpretation and understanding of history (Corrin, 1993:303-4). In ‘Mining the Museum’, Wilson focused on the museum as a formal space and its perceived neutrality when displaying objects from the past. He was able to challenge the traditions of ordering and presenting objects from history. The installation explored not what objects mean but how meaning is created when they are placed within the museum (Corrin, 1993:306).
Museums and other institutions categorise objects and things on their identity. This traditional way of organising different objects or things goes back to Aristotle and his ideas on ‘specific’ difference. Objects are categorised according to negation and their opposition to one another, for example can fly/can’t fly or silver/not silver. Aristotle claimed that there were divisions within being that divided things into categories, genres, and species etc. We are then able to fit objects into this system of categorisation. (Williams, 2003:63-64) Museums tend to categorise their items and display them according to this principle.
In ‘Mining the Museum’, the placing of different objects together by Wilson disrupted this traditional categorisation within the museum. It gave us a post-structuralist view of objects and the history they represent. Wilson allowed ” …the power of objects to speak when the ‘laws’ governing museum practices [were] expanded and the artificial boundaries museums build [were] removed.” (Ginsberg s.d accessed 20/06/2020) Displaying artefacts unconventionally allowed Wilson to portray a deeper and more honest version of the past.
Heightening awareness through difference (Deleuze)
Wilson’s exhibition allowed viewers to interpret a new and truer version of history by exhibiting items from the black and native american people that were previously not on display. He also created the potential to heighten the viewer’s awareness of history by disrupting the traditional categorisation of historical objects based on identity. The French philosopher Gilles Deleuze (1925-1995) rejected Aristotle and Hegel’s theories of difference – both based on specific differences and opposition (Williams, 2003). Deleuze believed that ‘to be’ is the same for all things and that being is in a constant state of motion. Generalising does not take into account ‘newness’ or the ability of things to evolve and change (Martin-Jones &Sutton, 2008:46). Wilson’s installation resisted categorisation based on negation and created room for newness- of perspective and concepts in the form of affirmation.
Wilson created tension in his installation by juxtaposing different objects to create new concepts (Halle, 1993:170). The viewer was no longer passive but active in interpreting objects placed in an unconventional manner.
In ‘Modes of transport (1770-1910) Wilson placed a klu klux Klan head inside a 19th Century white baby’s pram. What did these two unrelated objects mean to the viewer? The concept signified here suggested that racism was inherited and passed from parent to child. This simple placement of two different objects together allowed the viewer to question where racism originates from and created the potential for a new perspective to evolve. Wilson has effectively, encouraged the shackled people in Plato’s cave to turn around and question the shadows displayed before them.
Conclusion
It is possible to interpret ‘Mining the Museum’ in terms of difference in several ways. Firstly, the installation was able to tell the history of Maryland that wasn’t bias towards the ‘white’ culture. Placement or non-placement (Installation of Pedestals, Truth Globe and Busts) of items together created a synthesis of white, superior visible history and black, inferior invisible history. The viewers were given a more honest representation of their history. Secondly, the installation was able to indicate differences in power between African and the indigenous Americans and the white population through the positioning and sizing of the artefacts. Lastly, Wilson was able to heighten awareness of his viewers by rejecting the traditional classification of objects and allowing a more Deleuzian approach to his installation.
Wilson’s installation is sadly still as relevant today as it was in the 1990’s. The L.A unrest of the 1990’s has been echoed by the sad killing of African-American George Floyd by a white Police Officer earlier this year. The differing experiences of the citizens of Maryland’s past, as seen in ‘Mining the Museum’, are still rippling and underlying the fabric of American society.
Reflections
I am extremely pleased that I selected ‘Mining the Museum’ for this Assignment as it was a very powerful installation. It seems especially relevant at the moment in light of the Black Lives Matter Movement and the murder of George Lloyd. I find it fascinating and deeply satisfying that people are removing and demanding the removal of statues of individuals with a history related to the slave trade, the exploitation of other nations or even for holding racist views. I personally am shocked that these statues exist and feel quite ignorant that I was unaware of them. Again, these physical protests bring to light the question of who records and documents our history? Why were these people immortalised in a statue and whose version of history is on display? Yet, as Wilson implies in Modes of Transport, were the views of these individuals (such as Robert Baden-Powell )inherited and something that was ‘bred’ into them? Would we have had the same views towards others if we had been socialised and conditioned in the same way?
It was extremely challenging to bring philosophical theories of difference into Wilson’s installation as I found the theories extremely complex.
List of Illustrations
Fig 1. Artist Fred Wilson (b.1954) At http://www.archivesandcreativepractice.com/fred-wilson (Accessed 04/062020)
Fig 2. Wilson, F. (1992) installation “Metalwork 1793-1880.” [Historical objects form the Maryland Historical Society] ‘Mining the Museum exhibition’ At https://beautifultrouble.org/case/mining-the-museum/ (Accessed 10/06/2020)
Fig 3. Wilson, F. (1992) Installation of Pedestals, Truth Globe and Busts [Historical objects form the Maryland Historical Society] ‘Mining the Museum exhibition’ At https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Figura-4-Fred-Wilson-Vista-da-Instalacao-Mining-the-Museum-Garimpando-o-Museu-The_fig4_335084044 (Accessed 14/06/2020)
Fig 4. Wilson, F. (1992) Modes of Transport 1770-1910) [Historical objects form the Maryland Historical Society] ‘Mining the Museum exhibition’ At http://www.artnet.com/magazineus/books/nathan/martha-buskirk-creative-enterprise-6-4-12_detail.asp?picnum=2 (Accessed 13/06/2020)
Fig 5. Sir Robert Eden, 1st Baronet, of Maryland (1741-1784) At https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_Robert_Eden,_1st_Baronet,_of_Maryland Accessed (14/06/2020)
Fig 6. Wilson, F. (1992) Modes of Transport (1770-1910) [Historical objects form the Maryland Historical Society] ‘Mining the Museum exhibition’ At https://www.on-curating.org/issue-45-reader/non-things-or-why-nostalgia-for-the-thing-is-always-reactionary.html#.Xu3olERKjcc (Accessed 20/06/2020)
Bibliography
Corrin, L. (1993) Mining the museum. An Installation confronting history in Anderson, G. (2004) Reinventing the Museum Altamira Press: Oxford p.248-256 At http://historyinpublic.blogs.brynmawr.edu/files/2016/01/Curator_Mining-the-Museum.pdf (Accessed 11/07/2020)
Descombes, V. (1980) Modern French Philosophy. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press
Garfield, D. (1993) Making the museum mine:An interview with Fred Wilson Museum News At https://msu.edu/course/ha/452/wilsoninterview.htm (Accessed 20/06/2020)
Ginsberg, E. Case study : Mining the museum At Beautiful Trouble https://beautifultrouble.org/case/mining-the-museum/ (Accessed 20/06/2020)
Sadler, Dr. G.B (2013) Marist College Lectures – G.W.F. Hegel Phenomenology of spirit You tube lecture At https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Fi7g5Ncy5U (Accessed 20/06/2020)
Halle, H. (1993) Mining the Museum ‘Grand Street Journal’ No.44 pp151-172 At https://www.jstor.org/stable/25007622?seq=1 (Accessed 20/06/2020
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_Robert_Eden,_1st_Baronet,_of_Maryland (Accessed 20/06/2020)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Phenomenology_of_Spirit (Accessed 20/06/2020)
http://www.archivesandcreativepractice.com/fred-wilson (Accessed 20/06/2020)
https://www.mdhs.org/digitalimage/installation-view-mining-museum (Accessed 20/06/2020)
https://plat.stanford.edu/entries/deleuze/ (Accessed 20/06/2020)
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/hegel-dialectics/ (Accessed 20/06/2020)
https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/fred-wilson-15855 (Accessed 20/06/2020)
Martin-Jones, D. &Sutton D. (2008) Deleuze Reframed New York I.B Tauris & Co.Ltd.
Williams, J. (2003) Gilles Deleuze’s “Difference and Repetition”. A critical introduction and guide. Edinburgh University Press
Amendments to Part 4 Exercises
EXERCISE 4.5
Apply the dialectic diagram to Barr’s. What would count as a thesis, an antithesis and a synthesis. You will need to refer to images of art works for a persuasive answer.
By studying Barr’s chart, it can be shown that at the beginning of the 20th Century Cubism acts as a thesis whilst Fauvism acts as an opposing antithesis. The emergence of Orphism can be seen as a synthesis of both of these two movements, being influenced by and using elements of both. To demonstrate this synthesis, the fundamentals of each movement will be discussed and art works indicated.
Cubism (Thesis)
Cubism was invented around the year 1907 by artists Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque. Analytical cubism gave way to synthetic cubism as the artists developed their ideas. Picasso and Braque developed a new form of realism that abandoned the traditional single point perspective form of representation. Instead they created a new form of realism to convey form and structure more accurately and convincingly. Inspired by Cezanne, who constructed forms out of different planes, Analytical Cubism used multiple viewpoints that created an experience of three dimensional objects in space and time. Movement is continuous as the viewer constructs, not just through sight but through thought as well, the suggestion of an object (Dempsey, 2002:85). Objects were reduced and fragmented to depict volume and mass in space.
Mandora (Fig 3.) illustrates the new perspective explored in analytical cubism. Overlapping planes, fragmented form and structure give the illusion of a more realistic depiction of subjects in space and time (Tate online , Accessed 20/05/2020). It reflects our experience of life that flows through movement in time rather than exists in a static state.
In both Braque’s Mandora (Fig 3) and Picasso’s The Accordionist (Fig 4) the subject matter is similar. The two artists focused on neutral subject matter (still life) and completed their images in a subdued and monochromatic palette. This ensured that the whole of the viewers’ attention was focused upon the structure of the form and the density of the image (Tate online, accessed 20/05/2020)
In Synthetic Cubism (Fig 5), the artists started to flatten the image rather than breaking it down into multiple viewpoints. Experiments with collage, textures and patterns in their art helped to achieve this, alongside large blocks of colour (Dempsey, 2002:85).
Fuavism (Antithesis)
Fauvism was a movement that existed between 1905 and 1910 and included artists such as Henri Matisse and Andre Derain. After an exhibition at the salon d’automne in Paris, in 1905, the critic Louis Vauxcelles labelled this group of artists Les Fauves (wild beasts) due to their use of bold colours and wild brushstrokes. Unlike the cubists, who focused on realism of form, depth and structure through movement and time, the belief amongst this group of artists was that art should evoke emotional sensations through form and colour. The artists primarily expressed themselves through the use of bold, unnatural, strong colours which served to create atmosphere.
Matisse’s Joy of Life (Fig 6) illustrates the Fauvist’s strong use of colour which creates a warm, inviting atmosphere. The curving simple lines create the forms of bodies reclining and relaxing amongst nature. The expression through colour and the simplified forms evokes sensations of pleasure and physical delight. Similar to the cubists, the fauvists rejected traditional three-dimensional space and used flat areas of colour and spontaneous brushwork to flatten the surface of the canvas.
Scientific colour theory was important to the Fauvists and they paid particular interest in the 19th Century colour theories relating to the effects of complementary colours (Essaulova, accessed 20/05/2020). In Bridge to Charing Cross (Fig 7), Derain uses complementary colours to heighten the scene and allow the contrasting colours to heighten the impact of the painting.
Orphism (Synthesis)
The thesis (Analytical cubism) and the antithesis (Fauvism) act in opposition to one another. Cubism focuses on the structure of form and mass through time and space whereas Fauvism focuses on the expression of emotion through the use of colour and simple forms. Both movements reject the traditional forms of representation and flatten or give depth to the image. The synthesis for these two art movements is that of Orphism.
Orphism, that evolved from about 1912, included artists such as Frantisek Kupka, Robert Delauney and Sonia Delauney. These artists were highly influenced by the cubist and Fauvist movements taking elements from each. Fig 8. illustrates Delauney’s Red Tower which shows the representation of the subject matter from multiple viewpoints but also shows some Fauvist qualities by introducing a more striking subject matter and the use of bright bold colours.
As Orphism progressed, they started to move beyond reality into pure abstraction. There was a mystical and spiritual element to their paintings through the use of colour and shape. Like the Fauvists, colour theory became very important as they learnt the interrelationships of colour, light and movement and applied it to their work. Contrasting colours, colour harmonies and rhythms create expression that gives depth, form, movement and an emotional content (The art story accessed 20/05/2020). The Orphist artist Guillaume Appollinaire(1880-1918) developed an anlalogy between music and painting. He believed that pure colour abstractions had a similar effect on the emotions of the viewer as to the listener (Dempsey, 2002:99)
In the later stages of Orphism we can see a fusion of pure abstracted forms and an expressive interplay of colour (Fig 9. Prismes electriques) (Tate online, accessed 20/05/2020). The result is an expressive form of abstract art that draws attention to the flat surface of the canvas.
Orphism is a synthesis of Analytical cubism and Fauvism. Both movements rejected the traditional representation of three dimensional reality pushing them both towards near abstraction of form and a flattening of the image. The Orphists expressed themselves through bold bright colours based on colour theories of the time (Fauvism) and embraced the multiple fragmented viewpoints of cubism that ultimately led to pure abstraction.
Reflections
This was a very interesting exercise and it was fascinating to see how two movements could influence artists of the time. There seemed to be more opposing forces between Fauvism and Cubism than similarities, yet the two movements seemed to inspire the Orphists to create one of the earliest approaches to complete abstraction.
List of Illustrations
Fig 1. Diagram to illustrate Hegel’s dialectic of subjectivity and objectivity. At https://calmapossawi.tk/113-hegel-thesis-antithesis-synthesis-dialectic.php (Accessed 20/05/2020)
Fig 2. Barr, A.H. (1936) Cubism and Abstract Art. At https://www.moma.org/calendar/exhibitions/2748 (Accessed 20/05/2020)
Fig 3. Braque, G. (1909-10) Mandora [oil on canvas] At https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/braque-mandora-t00833 (Accessed 20/05/2020)
Fig 4. Picasso, P. (1911) The Accordionist [oil on canvas] At https://www.guggenheim.org/artwork/3426 (Accessed 20/05/2020)
Fig 5. Gris, J. (1914) The Sunblind [oil on canvas] At https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/s/synthetic-cubism (Accessed 21/05/2020)
Fig 6. Matisse, H (1905) Joy of Life (Bonheur de Vivre) [oil on canvas] At https://www.henrimatisse.org/joy-of-life.jsp (Accessed 20/05/2020)
Fig 7. Derain, A. (1906) Bridge to Charing Cross [oil on canvas] At https://arthive.com/andrederain/works/323773~Bridge_To_Charing_Cross (Accessed 20/05/2020)
Fig 8. Delauney, R.(1912) The Red Tower [oil on canvas] At https://www.guggenheim.org/artwork/1020 (Accessed 20/05/2020)
Fig 9. Delauney, S. (1914)Prismes electriques [oil on canvas] At https://www.tate.org.uk/press/press-releases/ey-exhibition-sonia-delaunay (Accessed 20/05/2020)
Bibliography
Bois, Y-A (2004) with B.Buchloh, H. Foster, R. Krauss. Art since 1900 London and New York, Thames and Hudson.
Dempsey, A. (2002) Styles, Schools and Movements Thames and Hudson Ltd. London.
Esaulova, A. Bridge to Charing Cross At https://arthive.com/andrederain/works/323773~Bridge_To_Charing_Cross (Accessed 20/05/2020)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orphism_(art) (Accessed 20/05/2020)
https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms (Accessed 20/05/2020)
https://www.theartstory.org/movement/orphism/artworks/ (Accessed 20/05/2020)
https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/fauv/hd_fauv.htm (Accessed 20/05/2020)
EXERCISE 4.4
Say to what extent Giotti’s painting can serve to illustrate the quote be Deleuze. (200 words)
“Let us imagine something which is distinguished – and yet that from which it is distinguished is not distinguished from it. The flash of lightening for example, is distinguished from the black sky, but must carry the sky along with it… One would say that the bottom rises to the surface, without ceasing to be the bottom. There is, on both sides, something cruel – and even monstrous – in this struggle against an elusive adversary, where the distinguished is opposed to something which cannot be distinguished from it, and which continues to embrace that which is divorced from it.” (Deleuze, 2014:361 cited in OCA UVC handbook 2016:105)
In Giotti’s painting ‘The Kiss of Judas’ (1305), we are able differentiate the figure and the background. As there is no use of single point perspective or illusion of three dimensions, there is no ordering of the space (Olkowski, 1999:17). This means that the bottom of the painting (or the distinguished background) rises up to the surface of the canvas, just as;
‘The flash of lightening… is distinguished from the black sky, but must carry the sky along with it… One would say that the bottom rises to the surface without ceasing to be the bottom.’ (Deleuze, 2014:361 cited in OCA UVC handbook 2016:105)
The figures in the painting are distinguished from the background yet carry the background with it. Deleuze describes this effect as ‘monstrous’ (Deleuze, 2014:361 cited in OCA UVC handbook 2016:105). This is quite a strong word to use and it would suggest that Deleuze disliked the flatness and distortion it created in the image. Form and representation have been destroyed through the creation of a depth-less surface and a flattening of the image.
The figures in the ‘The King of Judas’ fresco have all been painted form a side on perspective which further emphasises the flatness of the image. This resonates with the Ancient Egyptian art and writing which places the human form in a similar manner. Alongside the figures, the background has risen to the surface. The relationship between background and figure creates an ‘indifferent difference’ (Olkowski, 1999) between contradictory and inseparable entities. Olkowski describes this as a ‘highly differentiated kind of pictorial space[s] that draws attention to the surface of the picture’. Comparisons can be made to Greenberg’s theory on modernist art where the emphasis was places on drawing attention to the flat surface of the canvas (Greenberg, 1965). Due to the abandonment of the traditional depiction of three dimensional space, the images in modernist painting became flattened in a way similar to ‘The Kiss of Judas’. We are in no doubt that we are looking at images painted onto a flat surface .
List of Illustrations
Fig 1. Bodone di Giotto, (1305) The Kiss of Judas [Fresco] Scrovegni Chapel, Padua, Italy At https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiss_of_Judas (Accessed 15/05/2020)
Bibliography
Olkowski, D. (1999) Difference and Organic Representation in Gilles Deleuze and the Ruin of Representation (p.15-32) University of California Press: London At https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=xdzqBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA24&lpg=PA24&dq=difference+and+organic+representation+olkowski&source=bl&ots=OFdeHocgZY&sig=ACfU3U3GI7cLKySlrXjPMjoc3RWJTJO-XQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjo3KDd9rXpAhW0uXEKHSBJDt8Q6AEwAHoECAgQAQ#v=onepage&q=difference%20and%20organic%20representation%20olkowski&f=false (Accessed 15/05/2020)
Exercise 5.0
Read the first three pages (at least) of Arthur Danto’s essay ‘Works of Art and Mere Real Things’ in his book ‘The Transfiguration of the Commonplace.‘ Then conduct your own ‘thought experiment’ by choosing a picture or object that is, or you can imagine it to be, a work of art. Give the ‘work’ three or more different titles, then reflect on the effect of the title on the work and the work on the title.
This Exercise took me back to part one of this course when in Exercise 1.3 we were asked to suggest how a Dyson vacuum cleaner can be seen as a work of art. This had led me to reflect upon the ‘ready-made’ art object such as Duchamp’s ‘Fountain’. It is a big question to ask why a ready-made object when outside the gallery is just an object but when it is inside the gallery walls it becomes art. I considered that the title attached to an object when in a gallery can prompt a new perspective in the viewer or act as a gateway to a new conceptual thought. Later in the course, I stumbled across the work ‘New hoover convertibles, Green, Red, Brown, New Shelton wet/dry 10 Gallon Displaced Doubledecker.‘(1981-1987) by Jeff Koons. I hadn’t realised that an artist had already placed some ready-made vacuum cleaners in a display and called it art!
I decided to follow this ready-made idea and selected another of Koons’s art works titled ‘Encased- four rows’ (1983-1993).
Koons’s title for this art work is very literal although there appear to be four columns not rows? Koons has organised the balls in a similar way to how they would be presented to us in a shop. By keeping them in a glass display case he is denying them of their purpose and almost treating them like precious objects (Tate online, accessed 28/06/2020).
Alternative titles for Encased – Four Rows
- Welcome to Sports Direct – This title creates a new effect on the piece of work. We, the viewer, are now looking at the basketball in the context of the capitalist consumer system. Our attention is drawn to the way that we, the consumer, access and purchase objects to enable certain activities. The effect the work has on the title is one that illuminates the mass production and repetitive nature of objects in a consumer society.
- Prison Life – This title brings a symbolic dimension to the encased basketballs. We now think of the glass case as the prison walls and the basketballs as the prisoners. The work of art has an effect on the title as we can see the basketballs describing prison life. Lives and identities frozen for periods of time, potentials unrealized and purposes unfulfilled. The packaging resembling restrictive small cells in compacted living spaces.
- Untitled – If Koons’s basketballs were Untitled we would assume that the artist is intent on not revealing their own thoughts or intentions. This would allow us, the viewer, to take the opportunity to interpret the art in our own way.
List of Illustrations
Fig 1. Koons, J. (1981-1987) New hoover convertibles, Green, Red, Brown, New Shelton wet/dry 10 Gallon Displaced Doubledecker. At: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/jeff-koons-2368/jeff-koons-banality-decadence-and-easyfun (Accessed 28/06/2020)
Fig 2. Koons, J. (1983-1993) Encased – four rows At: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/jeff-koons-2368/jeff-koons-banality-decadence-and-easyfun (Accessed 28/06/2020)
Bibliography
https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/jeff-koons-2368/jeff-koons-banality-decadence-and-easyfun (Accessed 28/06/2020)
Exercise 4.3
In your own words (one brief paragraph) say why you think creation and affirmation are linked here.
According to Deleuze, all things (sensations, animals, ideas) are creations in their own right and ‘not merely an account of their interactions with other things.’ (Hallward, 2006,1) They are all connected and yet no two things are the same. Therefore difference is creation. Difference, in an everyday sense focuses on the positive and the negatives between two things or oppositions (Williams, 2003:60-61). For example, one black cat has blue eyes and the other has brown (negative) and everything else is the same (positive). However, we do not have to see things as contrasting or in contradiction positively or negatively instead we can view difference as creation as affirmative (Belshaw, 2016:104).
Creation is the energy of transformation.It allows for continuous differentiation, mutation and change. To affirm creation and being allows for an ‘inexhaustible source of pure potential or transformation’ (Hallward,2006,37).
Bibliography
Belshaw, M. (2016) OCA UVC coursebook Barnsley
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/affirmative (Accessed 11/05/2020)
Leucrezia (2014) Deleuze, Active Nihilism & Revolt At https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/lucrezia-deleuze-active-nihilism-revolt (Accessed 11/05/2020)
Smith, D. (2008) Gilles Deleuze Stanford Enclyclopedia of philosophy 23/5/08 Accessed at https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/deleuze/ (Accessed 11/05/2020)
Williams, J.(2003) Gilles Deleuze’s Difference and Repitition A critical introduction and guide Edinburgh University Press
Exercise 4.2
Read the text of Newman’s essay in Art in Theory and write a short summary (200 words).
In the essay ‘The first man was an artist’ (1947) by Barnett Newman, Newman argues that the original man was born an artist and poet as opposed to a social animal. Man’s first experience was aesthetic and his speech was ‘a poetic outcry’ rather than a need for communication. His first cry was a song and his address to a neighbour was a cry not a request. Men built idols out of mud before they built axes or pottery – the manual products of civilisation.
Newman prioritises the aesthetic over the social. The first humans were ‘artists before they were hunters, storytellers before scientists.’ The creative mind came before utilitarian instincts in a desire to find meaning/truth in the world (Kirkpatrick, 2010). Newman references Christianity and suggests that in the Genesis, Adam sought a creative life by eating from the tree. He wanted to be a creator like God but as a punishment he was reduced to a life of toil.
The fall of man is due to our inability to live the ‘life of a creator’. Artists today strive for a closer approach to the truth concerning the original man. They are driven to be a painter and poet in our natural human state, in defiance of scientific reasoning which restricts creativity and holds us back (Kirkpatrick, 2010).
Reflections
At the heart of Newman’s essay is the fact that the creative human is a natural state of being that we all have. All children will draw freely and without inhibition but, as we grow older, a society based on science and reasoning blocks and stunts this creative outlet. Artists, poets, writers and musicians all strive to release that pure creativity that we seem to have lost.
Bibliography
Kirkpatrick, M. (2010) Review of the First Man was An Artist http://mattkirkpatrick.blogspot.com/2010/03/review-of-newman.html (accessed 02/05/2020)
Newman, B. (1947) The first man was an artist from Tiger’s Eye (New York) No.1 (October 1947)pp.59-60 At http://theoria.art-zoo.com/the-first-man-was-an-artist-barnett-newman/ (Accessed 02/05/2020)
https://www.theartstory.org/artist/newman-barnett/life-and-legacy/ (Accessed 02/05/2020)
Sketchbook notes
Reflections on Part 3
Part 3 was a real challenge and made me question a lot of my perceptions of reality. The post modern theoretical content was much more difficult to digest and I feel that it still might take a while for me to completely get to grips with it. I thoroughly enjoyed looking at art works and applying theories especially when exploring metapictures and Rachel Whiteread’s sculpture ‘house’. Assignment 3 was very informative. I had never examined Plato’s allegory of the cave before and was surprised that it could be applied to many different things. It feels like a timeless observation of human culture and feels particularly relevant in the political climate of today. I did feel that the word count was very low for the subject matter and could have written lots more about this subject. I have experimented more with some ideas in my sketchbook. I have particularly enjoyed taking an image and changing it through different mediums and PC apps.
Demonstration of subject based knowledge and understanding
I undertook a lot of reading to understand the concepts in this section of the course. Compared to modernist theory, there was a lot more to comprehend and interpret. I initially struggled with some of these concepts, especially those of Baudrillard, but feel that I have interpreted them well within my writing. I found Assignment 3 to be particularly interesting in stretching my imagination. It allowed me to express and apply theoretical knowledge to the contemporary world through the allegory.
Demonstration of Research Skills
Due to the nature of this section of this course, I felt as though there was a lot of research to undertake. I often found that I was reading far too much around a subject, but then was able to refer back to that research at a later point. I am confident at quoting relevant parts of research to support my writing and have become better at finding alternative viewpoints to balance an answer to a question.
Demonstration of critical and evaluation skills
I feel that the strength of my critical and evaluation skills are growing. I spend a lot of time thinking around a subject to help me fully understand it and gain a deeper perspective . I can evaluate information, theories and views and allow them to inform and shape my own growing perspective. I have started to be more confident expressing my own opinions and thoughts as well as those of others.
Communication
Sometimes my thoughts are difficult to put into words and I therefore spend a lot of time editing my work. I also often feel that sometimes my thoughts and organisation can become somewhat muddled. I have tried especially hard in Part 3 to rectify this through organising my notes in a coherent way. I have used subtitles in Assignment 3 to try to organise what was a very wide subject, as per advice from my tutor, to assist me.
Exercise 3.5
Does the prospect of artificial intelligence make us doubt the authenticity of human intelligence or is it forever a copy or fake version of human intelligence?
During the industrial revolution, humans invented and built machines as ‘artificial substitutes for human body functions such as lifting and transporting’ (Moravec 1988:2) to boost productivity beyond human physical capabilities. According to Moravec, approximately 100 years ago, humans started to develop and create practical calculating machines to simulate the abilities of the human mind.
In the post-modern period of the 20th Century, this imitation of human intelligence accelerated via the development of new technology to a point where artificial intelligence is now part of our everyday life. Artificial intelligence is currently imitating certain functions of the human brain for a variety of functions and purposes in our contemporary society. In fact, it has become so integrated into daily life (in digital devices such as Alexa, Siri and google maps) that most people are unaware when it is being used.
So what exactly is intelligence and in what way is it artificially imitated. According to Educba online (accessed 03/03/2020) , intelligence is the mental ability for reasoning, problem solving and learning through the use of perception, memory, language and planning. Humans are able to learn from past experiences, use that knowledge to adapt to new problems/situations and create abstract ideas. Alongside this runs emotional intelligence and the ability to self-regulate, be self-aware, acquire motivation, empathy and social skills. (David Goleman, 1999). Artificial intelligence mimics some of our mental abilities as it learns to process data from sensors and electronic components to simulate the human brain, similar to the functioning of a human infant brain (Science Times 2020).
Currently, AI is in an infantile stage in comparison to human intelligence and can be seen as copy, or a fake version that imitates only some functions of the human brain. However, the prospect of AI in the future, if society continues to allow for development and advances in technology, may lead us to doubt the authenticity of human intelligence. , AI tends to be fragmented and placed separately within machines such as computers, tablets etc. but what would happen to that intelligence if it was placed in one ‘holistic’ artificial machine that resembled a human being – a cyborg?
Science-fiction writers have speculated about the future of artificial intelligence for decades and attempted to tackle this problem of human authenticity. In Ridley Scott’s 1982 sci-fi film Blade Runner (based on Philip K. Dick’s novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep) we are introduced to a dystopian future in which artificial intelligence, in the form of humanoids, are created and used as ‘slaves’ for the purposes of their human creators. They are so identical to humans – physically and intellectually that they are virtually impossible to detect and are referred to as replicants.
The replicants only have a lifespan of 4 years and are then programmed to self-terminate to prevent them from developing emotional responses. In this fictional account of the future of AI, we are presented with identical replicas of human beings and human intelligence. What allows the replicants to become genuine versions of human intelligence and not mere fake copies is the ability for them to experience a physical life. As the replicant Roy states ‘ We’re not computers, we’re physical’ (Hauer, 1982 Blade Runner ) This physical experience of AI allows the replicants to develop memories, experiences and social interactions that allows for the development of emotional responses. If this were to become a reality in the future it would make AI indistinguishable from its human creators.
It is interesting that AI in human form could be considered more acceptable to humans than AI in machine form. In 1970 the Japanese roboticist Mashiro Mori developed a theory called the uncanny valley. In this theory there is a point where we find the robot/cyborg unsettling and start to reject it. This might be where they resemble humans but have jerky movements or artificial eyes. If the robot is perfect and replicates the human form we are more likely to accept it (Grabianowski s.d.).
Mori’s uncanny valley suggests that the imperfect AI in humanoid form is perceived as a copy or a fake version of human intelligence. We are fully aware that it is artificial and this can make us feel ill at ease.
Another point to consider when considering the authenticity of human intelligence is when AI develops or evolves away from the original (human). One example of this can be found in the film the Matrix. This 1999 movie by the Wachowski brothers shows another future world in which the humans are oblivious to the fact that they are living in a computer simulated illusion. The AI has surpassed the limitations of human intelligence and has enslaved the minds of humans in this virtual world whilst they harvest their bodies for energy. AI no longer resembles the original version of human intelligence it once replicated. It has evolved and developed into something authentic in it’s own right (The Matrix,1999).
To conclude, at this present point in time, I would argue that human intelligence is authentic and AI can be seen as fake versions of brain functioning and capability. However, in the future there is the possibility that AI could become so close to human intelligence it will threaten its authenticity. If AI is embodied in human form that can experience a physical existence ( like Blade Runners replicas), they could have the ability to experience and act in the world exactly as humans do. It is also possible, in the future, for AI to exceed and develop beyond the limitations of human intelligence. Human intelligence would become irrelevant and again, lose its authenticity.
Reflections
I felt as though this was a very big question to answer. ‘..the prospect of AI…’ means that there is a lot of speculation about what AI will be like in the future and whether this would compromise the authenticity of human intelligence. A lot of these speculations have been made by science fiction film directors and writers and so it was interesting to explore some of the possible scenarios that tackle this question.
Reading back through my responses to this question, I am not sure the section about the uncanny valley is relevant but I have kept it in none-the-less.
List of illustrations
Fig 1. Rutger Hauer (1982) as the replicant Roy Batty in Blade Runner (film blu ray still) At https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/science-behind-the-fiction-humans-as-batteries-as-in-the-matrix-probably-not-gonna-happen (Accessed 02/03/2020)
Fig 2. Mori’s graph of the uncanny valley. At https://science.howstuffworks.com/science-vs-myth/unexplained-phenomena/uncanny-valley1.htm (Accessed 02/03/2020)
Fig 3. Example of an AI robot in human form within Mori’s uncanny valley. The robot does not quite look fully human and thus creates a sense of unease. At https://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/robots/a5001/4343054/ (Accessed 03/03/2020)
Fig 4. Keanu Reeves as Neo in The Matrix (1999) Warner Bros pictures. At https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/science-behind-the-fiction-humans-as-batteries-as-in-the-matrix-probably-not-gonna-happen (Accessed 02/03/2020)
Bibliography
Allen, D. & Handley A. (2018) “The Most Photographed Barn
in America”: Simulacra of the Sublime in American Art and Photography Text Matters, Volume 8, Number 8, 2018 At https://www.jstor.org/stable/20025138?seq=1 (Accessed 03/03/2020)
Blade Runner (1982) Directed by Scott R. (Blu ray) Warner Bros. (Accessed 03/03/2020)
Grabianowski E. How the uncanny valley works At https://science.howstuffworks.com/science-vs-myth/unexplained-phenomena/uncanny-valley4.htm (Accessed 03/03/2020)
https://www.imdb.com (Accessed 03/03/2020)
Moravec, H. (1988) Mind Children: The Future of Robot and Human Intelligence London: Harvard University Press. At https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Mind_Children.html?id=56mb7XuSx3QC (Accessed 03/03/2020)
Sofge, E. (2020) The Truth About Robots and the Uncanny Valley: Analysis. Popular Mechanics At https://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/robots/a5001/4343054/ (Accessed 03/03/2020)
Staff reporter (2020) Understanding AI: Artificial Intelligence and How it Works Made Easy The Science Times 10.01.2020 At https://www.sciencetimes.com/articles/24651/20200110/artificial-intelligence-work-what-will-replace.htm (Accessed 03/03/2020)
An Introduction to Baudrillard (2019) online video At https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Yxg2_6_YLs (Accessed 03/03/2020)
http://www.educba.com/what-is-artificial-intelligence/ (Accessed 03/03/2020)
Lara's Understanding Visual culture (Visual Studies 1) blog 