by rakesh menon on December 23, 1997 at 22:10:06:

In Reply to: The aesthetics of electromechanical failure posted by Ken Goldberg on April 30, 1997 at 22:09:01:

: On page 12 of Ken Feingold's inspirational MOMA lecture
: he describes how the robots in his "where I can see
: my house from here so we are" installation
: began to break down, running in circles and losing their voices etc.

: This reminds a bit of Tinguely's Homage to NY at MOMA, where the
: entire construction fell apart and caught fire on opening night.

: Alan Rath spoke at Berkeley recently and I asked why all the wires
: are always so neat and clean. His answer is that this is the best
: way to make sure his machines keep working.

: It seems a majority of technology artists share the aesthetic of
: exposing loose wires and gears etc. that evokes a
: Blade-Runner-esque sense of chaos. And they often
: treat electromechanical failure as symbolic of industrial hubris.

: One surprising thing to me is how well industrial machines work
: in the real world, often 24 hours a day under an incredible range
: of conditions. Like Borofsky's hammering men, these machines
: continue unfazed for years on end. Perhaps there is an
: equally interesting aesthetics of electromechanical reliability.

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: : On page 12 of Ken Feingold's inspirational MOMA lecture : : he describes how the robots in his "where I can see : : my house from here so we are" installation : : began to break down, running in circles and losing their voices etc. : : This reminds a bit of Tinguely's Homage to NY at MOMA, where the : : entire construction fell apart and caught fire on opening night. : : Alan Rath spoke at Berkeley recently and I asked why all the wires : : are always so neat and clean. His answer is that this is the best : : way to make sure his machines keep working. : : It seems a majority of technology artists share the aesthetic of : : exposing loose wires and gears etc. that evokes a : : Blade-Runner-esque sense of chaos. And they often : : treat electromechanical failure as symbolic of industrial hubris. : : One surprising thing to me is how well industrial machines work : : in the real world, often 24 hours a day under an incredible range : : of conditions. Like Borofsky's hammering men, these machines : : continue unfazed for years on end. Perhaps there is an : : equally interesting aesthetics of electromechanical reliability.