Paul Klee
wrote a short text he titled “Taking a Line for a Walk”.
To give this idea a 21st century twist, I make autonomous
mobile robots that are small enough to walk around the canvas using
paint brushes to make marks. The robots have a small computer on
board and sensors that can see the surface of the canvas and the
marks it has already made. I use these robots a as a tool for
painting – as a super brush that can make marks that humans
cannot make alone. For instance, the robots can stay much closer to
the actual lines of living growing things than we can with hand eye
coordination. They are also capable of truly random behavior that
brings them closer to natural variation.
I wish to
make art that reflects our common lives. Two aspects of 21st
century life are inescapable. First is the continuing discoveries
and refinement of knowledge through science. I think the contemporary
disrespect and distrust of science may be temporarily fashionable,
but is certainly eternally foolish. Second, most of us have become
personally engaged with technology. Technology is no longer limited
to impacting our work lives, smart devices have a role in our
personal lives as well. Who would claim their daily lives are not
changed by one or more of the following devices: cell phone, TIVO,
Blackberry, Notebook Computer, Internet Search Engine, eMail Server,
...? Cell phones are a constant companion of many people today.
These are all
smart devices that depend upon small to large computers that are part
of their make up. These devices involve a combination of mechanics,
electronics, controllers, and programming. Using a similar tool to
make art reflects who we are and our lives today. I
use simple, very focused, small robots as a tool to integrate both
aspects into an art that is science informed and engaged with
technology in obvious and not so obvious way.