Week 3: Robotics + Art


Before this week’s lessons, I never thought I had any past experiences with robots and art until I thought back to all those trips I’ve taken to Disneyland. The memorable ride, Pirates of the Caribbean at Disneyland, puts you face to face with dozens of robots. These robots aren’t just any robots; they combine with the artistic perfection of moving like real human beings. Not only do we see many Jack Sparrow robots throughout the ride, I am also amazed at the way art and robotics were able to mesh with Dirk the homeless robot. Here crowds are shocked at how real looking, acting and feeling this robot is.





Looking at the ways robotics and art have been able to come together I think it’s very interesting to bring up the idea that art has influenced robotics. With the robot examples shown above, these were ways that robotics were able to influence art and take it to the next level, but what many people don’t know is how art has influenced robotics. In professor Vesna’s lecture, I learned that the idea of a robot came from theater. Through art, especially films, we see many new robotic ideas that have been imagined. Looking at movies like Star Trek, Star Wars, WALL-E, The Fifth Element, and many more, coming up with different use robots, and flying cars has influenced the robotic world. Taking a specific robot from Star Wars, BB-8, once the movie had released companies were already starting to try and make replicas of the robot to sell as toys (these robots being able to move and act the same as in the movie).



This idea of the reproduction of a unique art does not leave philosopher and culture critic, Walter Benjamin, very happy. In his writing The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, Benjamin states, “the technique of reproduction detaches the reproduced object from the domain of tradition”. Looking at his thoughts and the example of the BB-8 toy, we can see how the production of these toys have a lesser value compared to the actual original BB-8. Even though he has this negative idea behind art and reproduction, I think the reproduction of this robot is great because more and more people are able to witness this amazing mesh of art and robotics.


Vesna, Victoria. "Robotics Pt1." YouTube. N.p., 15 Apr. 2012. Web. 23 Apr. 2017. <https://youtu.be/cRw9_v6w0ew>.

Benjamin, Walter. "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction." Walter Benjamin. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2017. <https://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/philosophy/works/ge/benjamin.htm>.

Hanson, David. "Robots That "show Emotion"." David Hanson: Robots That "show Emotion" | TED Talk | TED.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2017. <https://www.ted.com/talks/david_hanson_robots_that_relate_to_you#t-278661>.

"Dirk the Homeless Robot." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2017. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature>.

Lipson, Hod. "Building "self-aware" Robots." Hod Lipson: Building "self-aware" Robots | TED Talk | TED.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2017. <https://www.ted.com/talks/hod_lipson_builds_self_aware_robots#t-361883>.

Comments

  1. UnknownApril 25, 2017 at 5:08 PM

    Kulia,
    Like you I had never placed the rides at places like Disney Land into an artistic mental folder. I kew it was robotics, but I had never thought much art had gone into it. The other point I think is very important in your blog is the fact that the idea of a robot originally came from theater. Many people think of theater as more of an artistic event, not a scientific. Whereas the idea of robots are more scientific rather than artistic. This is the perfect combination of the two, because we have seen many movies and plays that involve robots. Moving over to the paragraph about Walter Benjamin, I can see where he is coming at this argument from an artistic side. art used to be so special and so precious because there was only one of them. There was only one Mona Lisa, and that is what made it so prestigious. Now there are so many different copies of it, that the original one is often overlooked or unimpressive. This is how toys, like the BB8 ones, are becoming "less special". But I agree with you when you say, well yes there might be many other BB8 toys, but there is nothing like the original robot used in the movie.

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  2. elenaApril 26, 2017 at 9:22 PM

    I like the way that you connected robotics with the real world such as the Disneyland. The way you inserted videos makes it easier for others to understand it. I share the same thought as you do. The mass reproduction is good. The original one is good; it has details but not any people can afford it. The mass reproduction makes art and robotics closer to our life.

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