Art & Technology #11: STARTS

It was the Foundation Liedts-Meesen that inspired Ralph Dum, Project Officer of STARTS, to entertain the idea of an art and technology convergence. The foundation aims to fill the gap left by traditional art and raise competitiveness around the world by paying close attention to the technological drivers in today’s global culture. To this end, it established the New Technological Art Award, given every two years to artists who present innovative works that blend new technology with the spirit of experimentation. Belgian artist Honoré d'O is one such awardee whose work has also been presented in Korea over the years. In a sense, the foundation first provided the guidance and direction for STARTS to begin.

Consilience sublimates science and technology into forms of art that enrich lives. In the past, product development was a function of technological advancement, and product function would dictate its design. But the times have changed, and creative design is often prioritized over technology, which is now a means for design. In other cases, production itself has to take both design and technology into consideration. Consumers are no longer interested in products that fail to be creative.
To borrow the words of Paul Valéry, “Science and art are crude names, in rough opposition. To be true, they are inseparable.” Art is the mind and spirit of mankind expressed through acts of creation. Science, on the other hand, elucidates the workings of nature through rational principles and theories. It is art that inspires aesthetic beauty and sentiment, while science kindles curiosity and inquisitive spirit. Artists have always utilized science as a means of creation. Scientists also need the creative insight of artists in their process of inquiry.
Leonardo da Vinci was perhaps one of the first embodiments of consilience between art and science. His genius manifested equally across wide-ranging fields such machinery, art, music, anatomy, botany, mineralogy and philosophy. To this day, he is respected and remembered for his contributions to mankind through the consilience of art, technology and science.

Roy Ascott has presented at the Venice Biennale in addition to shows in Shanghai, Paris and Seoul. Ascott is a British artist who creates work through his knowledge of cybernetics and information communication technologies. His widely recognized installation, Aspects of Gaia, consisted of a global network that enabled artists, musicians and scientists from around the world to interact with one another in telematic space. Images of scientific, cultural, spiritual and mythical consilience beamed in unison as if to highlight the converging nature of Gaia.

Eric Joris is the artistic director of CREW, a collective seeking to explore the space between art and science, performance and new technology. He also develops live art projects in close collaboration with scientists and fellow artists. Most of his endeavors involve electronic and digital media and performances that encourage audience participation, creating an unusual artistic experience of communication and new ways of thought. His aesthetic universe is open to change and has no absolutes.

Laura Beloff’s Appendix is a wearable robotic tail that is connected to a network. With the appendage, she expresses the complex relationships between our body, technology, humanity and the environment. Appendix is an experimental attempt to look into the possibility of integrating technology as part of our physical and emotional existence, while exploring the hybrid spaces that bring together our physical world and technological networks. It highlights human dependency and connectivity to other beings, objects and elements of nature. Various factors control the movement of the tail, which implies a future where advanced technology may reconfigure our connection with non-human entities.

For artists, STARTS hopes to provide the means to bring creativity to life and realize works that look to wider horizons and future-oriented values. For scientists, STARTS hopes to provide a free, diverse range of content that expands human scope of thought. We look forward to the project playing a major role in bringing rise to the consilience of art and science. ■ with ARTINPOST