aikon drawing robot

Can a computer generate a masterpiece of art? Perhaps not yet, but this robot draws better than I do.

Dan   02.16.10

i´m afraid of this

Martin   02.16.10

Robots are never going to make art. They will move the object of art to another disiplin.
When the photograph appeared, portrait artists lost sense or figured another way of representation (impresionism) . The robot itself is a work of art. Artist will explore the art with robots or go beyond where robots can't manifest.
In both ways it will develop art, nothing to be afraid.

nico   02.16.10

If this machine's actions can be termed drawing, then your desktop printer draws better than you and this machine combined.

Snidely Whiplash   02.16.10

@Snidely Whiplash :
Good point. Then again, when I look at the images that have been created, I don't see a point-for-point duplication of the CCD stimulus; there is a randomness, or a mathematical interpretation, which I regard as a (simple) parallel to artistic interpretation in human beings. If you placed a photograph in the viewer, rather than a face, and had the robot "draw" the image twice, there would be two works that were identifiably recognizable, but obviously dissimilar.

Dan   02.16.10

@nico
Out of all the things I have read by and about Impressionist painters, I haven't seen any of them mention photography as a reason for taking up a new technique. I would say it is mostly a new generation looking for something they can say is their own. Also, Impressionism is a blanket term for many different styles, not all of which were as abstract as Monet's later work. In addition, there were plenty of traditional artists doing narrative, portrait and landscapes in the classical manner after photography became a mainstay.

The biggest difficulty with machines producing art is intent. What does the machine intend, imply? What does the machine have to say that is the basis for the art? Nothing at all. It is simply executing a program. And despite what some people say, code is not art. I do plenty of sketches of people and places and things, but I would not characterize them as art. They are simply renderings. Art comes later.

MCR   02.18.10