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“Technology, like art, is a soaring exercise of the human imagination.”
- Daniel Bell
Recent advances in technology and inventions such as Painting Fool have raised interesting questions and inflamed debate about Art, its significance and its future. “Can a machine ever be capable of creating art?” has become a topic of much debate among artists and scientists alike. Many people seem disturbed or confused by the possibility of an unconscious machine creating artwork and it is a truly fascinating conception. However, I feel that views regarding the capability of machines to produce Art are slightly irrelevant, missing and concealing a more profound point.
In this discussion both sides, to use the old proverbial turn of phrase, are “unable to see the wood for the trees”. Machines are incapable of producing Art (at this moment), as without a conscience they are unable to express themselves and it is this self-expression that constitutes Art. If machines were to ever develop consciousness then they could, without question, be capable of expressing themselves and therefore it is also plausible that they could create true Art and works-of-art as the consequence of their self-expression.
The work that is produced, although creative in the simplest definitive sense, is irrelevant and nothing more than inexpressive, meaningless, superficially aesthetic, digital discharge. But this is really a digression or tangent along which we will not proceed as what we are missing here is the real pièce de résistance; the true, sincere, pure product of artistic-expression in front of our very eyes. The machine. In this case our shallow or ignorant misunderstanding of what constitutes Art is masking the real masterpiece. Does the machine not embody the true expression of human want and desire (Art)? How could the conception and creation of such a thing not be the fruit of Art? The Artistic, physical-embodiment of the creator’s desires. The object born of pure expression. Pure Art. The subconscious, unintentional product of humanity’s curiosities and complexions. The creator/scientist/engineer (and equally the human race) can be said to be the Artist(s), the unwitting, unsung architects of absolute expression. Furthermore, does its subconscious manifestation not present us with a much more deeply profound, innocent and unequivocal form of expression? Free from ideology, aspirations and preconceptions of Art, yet still quite purposefully created? Maybe pure self-expression is impossible to attain unless articulated subliminally in this manner. Have we stumbled upon the only way to create pure, absolute Art/art without realising it? This oblivious manifestation is of importance and should not be overlooked or diverted by fruitless discussion of whether the works produced by the machine are Art. They are not. This debate is based, I believe, on ignorance and misunderstanding.
Could the aforementioned hypothesis not be said of all technology? Is it possible that the phenomenon of technology is a global Artistic movement that has always been overlooked? Everything that humanity wants and stands for is embodied and expressed in our technologies. We could use technology as the evidence, on the basis of which we might psychoanalyse the human race. And what a damming psychoanalysis it would be, demonstrating a susceptibility to, and a penchant for, narcissism, cruelty, war, consumerism and greed. These are the emotions we express through our weapons, vehicles, medicines, communication devices, social networks and poisons. The technologies and sciences are the paintings; humankind – the Artist; narcissism and war - the expression. Is it such an exceedingly pure expression that we are unable to conceive of it as an expression (Art) at all? Are we unable or unwilling? Perhaps we cannot except that technology may be the artwork born of the most profound Artistic expression we have ever created.
This stated it seems we must come to terms with the inevitable conclusion of this theory: That we can never create pure Art or truly express ourselves unless unaware and oblivious to our endeavours. When trying to express “us” the outcome is never a true expression, precisely because that is what we are trying to do. This is the paradox: we are incapable of creating a true expression (pure Art) if that is what we intend to do, as our intention necessitates awareness. Awareness of our exploits dilutes, taints or eradicates true expression. Pure Art cannot exist in the presence of consciousness. It is the child of the sub-conscience, analogous to the quantum physical, sub-atomic world; the observation determines the outcome. The consciousness defines the expression. As soon as we try to generate true expression it becomes contaminated and the truth instantly evaporates, equivalent to waveform-collapse observed in the sub-atomic realm.
The apotheosis of this chapter can be termed artistic indeterminacy - pure Art is indeterminate as our wish to express diminishes our ability and potential to create Art in its absolute form.
[What we might term as “traditional” or conscious expressive methods of Art (painting, composing etc.), are not ineffective forms of expression and they constitute an important part of our artistic heritage that continues to influence, drive and shape visual culture today. This traditional Artistic expression, whether it conforms to Modern or Post-Modern schools of thought, is still expressive and continues to function as an important part of society and cultural/intellectual achievement. It may be argued that different schools of thought promoted and championed methodologies that were capable of producing expression in varying degrees or nuances purity, some being, arguably, more diluted than others. But although we might taint or reduce our expressive effectiveness by striving to express ourselves truthfully, this want and urge to express or communicate emotion through Art, forms a large and important part of our culture and should not be neglected or lost. This Artistic endeavour is proof that we understand expression’s importance to humanity and society and should never be forgotten or neglected. Indeed expression is void of purpose but it is, and has been, essential and paramount to modern civilisation and us, as individuals.]