Mechanical Visionaries - winning artists using machines and robotics
Featuring Lumen Prize winning artists Dave Murray-Rust & Rocio von Jungenfeld, Lien-cheng Wang and Sougwen Chung.
The Lumen Prize has been celebrating the intersection of art and technology for over 13 years, and today we’re highlighting three incredible winning artists that have pioneered the use of robotics and machines in their artwork.
Dave Murray-Rust & Rocio von Jungenfeld - Lichtsuchende
In their award-winning installation, Lichtsuchende, David Murray-Rust and Rocio von Jungenfeld ingeniously utilize robotics to blur the boundaries between nature and technology. The robotic creatures, reminiscent of sunflowers, serve as active participants in an evolving social environment. By turning toward the sun to absorb light and emitting light to engage with one another and visitors, these robotic entities embody the essence of symbiosis between organic and artificial life. Through their movements and interactions, the robots not only showcase the capabilities of robotic technology but also invite contemplation on our relationship with the natural world and the potential for harmonious coexistence with technology.
Lien-cheng Wang - Reading Plan
Wang's Reading Plan transforms the traditional act of reading into an immersive experience through the integration of automated book-flipping machines. These machines, numbering 23 to represent the average student count per primary school in Taiwan, serve as both a symbolic representation and a functional element of the artwork. By autonomously turning pages and reciting text upon the arrival of audiences, the machines highlight the mechanization of education and the lack of individual agency within institutionalized learning systems. Through this utilization of robotics, Wang prompts viewers to reflect on the role of technology in shaping our educational experiences and challenges the notion of passive consumption in the pursuit of knowledge.
Sougwen Chung - Drawing Operations (Duet)
Chung's *Drawing Operations (Duet)* introduces a captivating exploration into the intersection of human creativity and machine intelligence. The inclusion of *Drawing Operations Unit: Generation 2* brings forth a new dimension to the performance, involving robotic memory and machine learning. Through neural nets trained on the artist's drawing gestures, the robotic arm of D.O.U.G._2 generates behavior reflective of the artist's visual style. As a result, the robotic arm not only interprets the artist's drawing gestures during the human-robot duet but also draws upon a memory bank of historic artists' visual styles and color palettes. This innovative integration of robotics and machine learning transforms the performance into a dynamic dialogue between human and machine, exploring themes of memory, creativity, and the evolving relationship between artist and technology.