In the movie Wall-E, there are several demonstrations of art being used as a reference for human culture and creativity. Several of the artifacts collected by Wall-E veer towards the artistic and, due to his appreciation of them, indicates strong themes of the significance of art. With this, we can relate robotics and art to the argument many artists and scholars have made in which robots/machines cannot be as "creative" as a human because, as we are aware of, robots/machines do not possess a sense of self (Gayford, 2016). And perhaps the "aura" that Benjamin writes about is this precise aura that is able to convey a sense of self.
With the invention of the printing press, it is interesting to look into how art is presently made and subsequently distributed. In the Forbes article "How Robot Art Reveals the Power of Humanity" by Alexandra Bregman, in discussion with the artist Agnieszka Pilat, Pilat describes how she doesn't see the value in art being made by robots to appear as though they were made by humans. Pilat, who works within the intersection of robotics and art, emphasizes that the artwork she aims to create using robotics is not "mass-produced" or "unoriginal." This idea of 'mass production" echoes Walter Benjamin's own ideas about mechanical reproduction and art, in which he claims that via mechanical reproduction, artworks are "stripped" of their "aura" (Benjamin, 1935).
Advancements in technology perhaps call on for a more critical look into how art and robotics can coexist in a matter that doesn't take away from the authenticity that art requires to truly be remarkable.
Images/Videos:
Image 1: Roboticart.org
Image 2: Pixar's Wall-E (2008)
Video: posted by Herman de Vries
References:
Benjamin, Walter. The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. Counterflow Distro, 2023.
Bregman, Alexandra. “How Robot Art Reveals the Power of Humanity.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 17 May 2023, www.forbes.com/sites/alexandrabregman/2023/04/28/how-robot-art-reveals-the-power-of-humanity/?sh=54b59d102c1f.
Gayford, Martin. “Robot Art Raises Questions about Human Creativity.” MIT Technology Review, MIT Technology Review, 2 Apr. 2020, www.technologyreview.com/2016/02/15/162067/robot-art-raises-questions-about-human-creativity/.
“The Gutenberg Press.” Treasures of the McDonald Collection - Special Collections & Archives Research Center, 2024, scarc.library.oregonstate.edu/omeka/exhibits/show/mcdonald/incunabula/gutenberg/.
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