 |
| Figure 1 |
| Art Meats Technology - Mads Peitersen, "The Anatomy of Gadgets" series, 2012 |
The image I have chosen to analyse centers around society and the effects technology is having on us in our everyday lives. The artist, Mads Peitersen, is a Danish conceptual artist and has created a very cleaver series of works on ‘Gadget Anatomy’. This piece I have chosen is called “Art meats technology” and is clearly showcasing our subconscious habit of becoming personally attached to everyday technology, in many cases treating these inanimate objects as if they were living breathing organisms. This piece of work has been painted and edited with digital software. Some pieces within the series have been commissioned by the manufacturer in question such as Apple, Nintendo, PS3 and Xbox, however to complete the series Peiterson has painted most of the images for fun and an exploration of what I think to be quite a unique idea.
The image itself depicts something organic within a cold hard inanimate shell. It is simple yet really accurate and familiar and the use of dull and metallic colours to represent the outside of the gadget as we usually see them contrasts greatly to the vibrant “living” colours we see used for the inner organs and tissue matter. The natural and life-like workings of the anatomy has cleverly been thought out by Peitersen and links to the specific functions of the gadget. For instance, the buttons are linked to the inner nerve endings and moving parts are linked to muscle and bone. Each floating app has effectively been visually wired up to its respective organ, suggesting that the phone is indeed alive and feels / uses its own organs just like we do. Humanising an in-human object in this way makes clear how easy it is for us to have these subconscious and sentimental relationships with our belongings and what they mean to us.
Although I think Peitersen created this piece in humour and almost a homage to his love of technology and how “advanced and cool” gadgets are today, I think there is also a serious message within his work.
“There has been more
technological improvement in the last 50 years than in the previous 5,000”
(Bowman, 2010); and these vast jumps in improvements don't seem to be stopping anytime soon. With this comes the harsh reality that it is hard to imagine life without that mobile phone in your pocket or life without the internet and google on your laptop or tablet. Gadgets are increasing in their intelligence daily, learning to work with our consciousness, creating new applications specifically designed to improve the very senses we were born with and therefore it should come as no surprise that “technology is not just serving us, but in ways changing us as well” (Lund, 2012).
Life has been made easier and is now full of cheats, the world has been made smaller and more accessible and it is because of this that I feel we treat certain items as almost an extension of our own living body, thus in some ways forgetting "the basic principles of being human” (Robinson, 2011). To a very large extent we now rely on technology for the very basics of living, to meet new people, expand our knowledge and simply communicate with the world and everyone in it around us. New technology and its progression goes hand in hand with our consumer society and the obsessive need to keep up with trends and have the very best, latest and newest thing. Its what keeps this ball rolling.
Life has been made easier and is now full of cheats, the world has been made smaller and more accessible and it is because of this that I feel we treat certain items as almost an extension of our own living body, thus in some ways forgetting "the basic principles of being human” (Robinson, 2011). To a very large extent we now rely on technology for the very basics of living, to meet new people, expand our knowledge and simply communicate with the world and everyone in it around us. New technology and its progression goes hand in hand with our consumer society and the obsessive need to keep up with trends and have the very best, latest and newest thing. Its what keeps this ball rolling.
I chose this image as I feel it really helps portray a current and very relevant issue within society today and how its growth and progression is becoming more and more lifelike and organic and more of an extension of ourselves than just inanimate objects. This image (and the others Peitersen has created within “The Anatomy of Gadgets” series) are so striking in their boldness, accuracy and simplicity that I feel it forces us to ask the question of how we personally treat technology and these inanimate objects in our own lives. How the use of gadgets and the relationships we build with them are ultimately shaping our living experiences in this “Technological Age” and how they are becoming an extension of who we are, a reliance, an addiction as well as "weapons of mass distraction” (McFedries, 2013).
5 Related Images
Lund, B. (2012) ‘Retail Conundrum – Looking Up?’ [Internet] U.K., Global Toy News. Available from: < http://www.globaltoynews.com/2012/09/retail-conundrum-looking-up-.html> [Accessed 3rd January 2015].
Robinson, M. (2011) ‘Where Do We Draw The Line?’ [Internet] U.K., WordPress. Available from: < https://writing4media.wordpress.com/2011/11/09/where-do-you-draw-the-line/> [Accessed 21st November 2014].
McFedries, P. (2013) ‘We’re Being Driven to Distraction by Clamorous Computing’ [Internet] U.K. Available from: < http://spectrum.ieee.org/computing/embedded-systems/were-being-driven-to-distraction-by-clamorous-computing> [Accessed 21st November 2014].
Fig.1, Peitersen, M. (2012) ‘Art Meats Technology – The Anatomy of Gadgets’ [illustration] D.N.K. Available from: <http://madspeitersen.com/4x3rlk1ufbwpsrxun4a4xs9bgc0kvd>.
Fig.2, Klarenbeek, J. (2013) ‘Passive’ [poster] A.U.S., Positive Posters.
Fig.6, Gross, A. (2014) 'Future Tense' [Painting] U.S.A., Available from: <http://www.alexgross.com/paintings/index.html>
Possible themes
- Dependancy on technology
- Relationship with technology
- Mental health issues as a result of technology over-exposure
- Addiction to connectivity
- Social media impacts
5 Related Images
 |
| Figure 2 |
.jpg) |
| Figure 3 |
 |
| Figure 4 |
 |
| Figure 5 |
 |
| Figure 6 |
Bibliography
Bowman, J. (2010) ‘The Lightning-Fast Pace of Technological Advancement.’ [Internet] U.K., Daily Reckoning. Available from: <http://dailyreckoning.com/the-lightning-fast-pace-of-technological-advancement/> [Accessed 20th November 2014].
Robinson, M. (2011) ‘Where Do We Draw The Line?’ [Internet] U.K., WordPress. Available from: < https://writing4media.wordpress.com/2011/11/09/where-do-you-draw-the-line/> [Accessed 21st November 2014].
McFedries, P. (2013) ‘We’re Being Driven to Distraction by Clamorous Computing’ [Internet] U.K. Available from: < http://spectrum.ieee.org/computing/embedded-systems/were-being-driven-to-distraction-by-clamorous-computing> [Accessed 21st November 2014].
Fig.1, Peitersen, M. (2012) ‘Art Meats Technology – The Anatomy of Gadgets’ [illustration] D.N.K. Available from: <http://madspeitersen.com/4x3rlk1ufbwpsrxun4a4xs9bgc0kvd>.
Fig.2, Klarenbeek, J. (2013) ‘Passive’ [poster] A.U.S., Positive Posters.
Available from: <https://www.behance.net/gallery/11314027/Positive-Posters-design>.
Fig.3, Luchi, F. (2012) ‘Digital Jailhouse’ [illustration] B.R.A., Go Outside Magazine.
Available from: <https://www.behance.net/gallery/3790149/Go-Outside-Magazine-Jailhouses>.
Fig.4, Thibault, A. (2013) ‘Cops vs Hackers’ [illustration] U.K., Readers Digest.
Available from: <http://sebastienthibault.com/READER-S-DIGEST-Cops-Hackers>.
Fig.5, Jonca, P. (2012) 'Big Brother' [Illustration] P.L., Wprost.
Available from: <http://paweljonca.com/150145/1217122/portfolio/big-brother>.
Available from: <http://paweljonca.com/150145/1217122/portfolio/big-brother>.
Possible themes
- Dependancy on technology
- Relationship with technology
- Mental health issues as a result of technology over-exposure
- Addiction to connectivity
- Social media impacts