ives-darts

Talking with Andrew about his robot that translates his junk mail into semaphore made me think of the rich history of artists projects that deal with robots and autonomous agents. Jean Tinguely with his drawing machines ("Meta-Matics") is certainly one of my favorites. His self-destructing sculptural homage to New York might read a little differently today but his creative impulses and objects are definitely worth being reminded of. This impulse to create a machine that take care of the art for you has other advocates and practitioners such as Harold Cohen's AARON which he initially programed to mirror his drawing methods – then it changed his drawing style. Institute for Applied Autonomy has a different idea of drawing. David Bowen gets flies to make his drawings. Norman White is also a critical person in the artistic use of robots —with his Telephonic Arm Wrestling and the Helpless Robot he humorously engages many of the social implications of extending ourselves though technological means.