NO LONgER TRANSHUmAN: HANDmADE mACHINES by PAUL … · NO LONgER TRANSHUmAN: HANDmADE mACHINES by...

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Границы субъективности / The LimiTs of subjecTiviTy

129 МеждународныйжурналисследованийкультурыInternationalJournalofCulturalResearch

www.culturalresearch.ru

Andrzej PITRUS / Анджей ПИТРУС| No Longer Transhuman: handmade machines by Paul Granjon|

содержание / Table of contents |теория искусства / Art Theory|

©Издательство«Эйдос»,2013.Толькодляличногоиспользования.

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Теорияискусства/ArtTheory

Andrzej PiTRus / анджей Питрус

Poland, Krakow. Jagiellonian University, Professor.

Польша, Краков. Ягеллонский университет, профессор

andrzej@pitrus.com.pl

NOLONgERTRANSHUmAN:

HANDmADEmACHINESbyPAULgRANJON

The article discusses the projects of Paul granjon – a French-born artist

working in Wales. His works deal with technology and comment on vari-

ous aspects of hi-tech; yet, use low-tech bricolage to express the artist's

ideas.Theauthor focuseson themost importantworks:objects, low-tech

machines,performancesandconceptualpieces.TheartofPaulgranjonis

presentedasafresh,funnyandinnovativeapproachtothequestionofhow

technology shapes people's lives and influences their everyday decisions.

Prof.AndrzejPitruscomparesworksbygranjontosomeforgottenideasof

marshallmcLuhan.

Key words: Paul Granjon, media art, subversive art, performance

Большене(транс)гуманен:«ручные»машиныПолаГранжонаВстатьерассматриваютсяпроектыПолаГранжона,французскогоху-

дожника,работающеговУэльсе.Вегоработахпоразномупреломля-

ютсяразличныеаспектывысокихтехнологий.Приэтом,активноис-

пользуетсяlo-techбриколаж.

Автор акцентирует внимание на наиболее важных работах художни-

ка:объектах,низкотехнологичных(lo-tech)машинах,перформансахи

концептуальныхпроизведениях.ИскусствоП.Гранжонапредставлено

как свежий, веселый и инновационный взгляд на то, как технологии

формируютжизньлюдейивлияютнапринятиеповседневныхреше-

ний.ПрофессорПитруссопоставляетпроизведенияГранжонаснеко-

торымизабытымиидеямиМ.Маклюэна.

ключевые слова: Пол Гранжон, медиа-арт, субверсивное искус-

ство, перформанс

Theterm“posthmanism”hasnowmultiplemeaningsdependingonthecontextitisusedin.Oneofthemis‘transhumanism’—

atechnologicalutopia,inspiredinitiallybyscience-fictionliterature,which will allow us to live happy disembodied lives without anydiseases,andultimatelywithoutdeathitself.Inthisunderstanding,criticized by many posthumanist theoreticians, a human being isgoingtobecomemorethanjusta‘humananimal’.Otherboundaries,mainly between technological and non-technological, will alsobe erased. This perspective is still popular with artists, and has alengthyhistory.

Transhumanartwasfirstrecognizedinlate70s.In1979anin-dependentfilmcalledBreaking Awaypremiered.TechnicallyitwasafilmedperformancebyNatashaVita-morewhofantasizedaboutescapinggravityandmovinghumanityintospace.Afewyearslaterin1983,‘Transhumanmanifesto’waspublishedgivingwaytomanynewprojects.Artists,fascinatedwithnewtechnologiesandcyber-punk literature, tried to revitalize selected ideas of dadaism and

futurismandplace them innewcontexts.The80sbroughthomecomputers—affordable,easytouse,andversatile.Newformsofexpressionwereborn.

Todaytechnologicalart,mediaart,andhybridartarethemostpopularformulasincontemporaryartingeneral.Themostimpor-tantartevents,includingVenicebiennale,Kassel’sDocumentaandothers feature many technologically oriented projects. media artfestivalsand institutionssuchasArsElectronica inLinzandZKminKarlsruheattract thousandsofyoungenthusiastswillingtoex-ploretheboundariesofart,scienceandtechnology.Individualap-proachesofparticularartistsofcoursevary,butgenerallywitheachyearartbecomesincreasinglyhigh-techasnecessarytechnologiesbecomecheaper.Sometimesitisquitedifficulttotellanartprojectfromascienceproject:HiroshiIshigurobuildshuman-likeandroidsto see how we can communicate with them. He speculates aboutpossibleusesofartificiallife:medicine,military,elderlycare?Thenhe‘hires’themtoplayalongsidehumanactorsinatheatricalpiece.

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Theaudiencehastoguesswhoisrealandwhoisnot.maybebothandroidsandhumansareequally‘real’.

Theseareimportantquestions.Onecannotsay,‘Iamnotinter-estedintechnologies’anymore.Even,orespecially,humanists.bru-noLatourputsitlikethis:

Ihavesoughttoofferhumanistsadetailedanalysisofatechnol-ogysufficientlymagnificentandspiritualtoconvincethemthatthemachinesbywhichtheyaresurroundedareculturalobjectsworthyoftheirattentionandrespect.They’llfindthatiftheyaddinterpre-tationofmachinestointerpretationoftexts,theirculturewillnotfalltopieces;instead,itwilltakeonaddeddensity.Ihavesoughttoshowtechniciansthattheycannotevenconceiveofatechnologicalobjectwithouttakingintoaccountthemassofhumanbeingswithall theirpassionsandpoliticsandpitifulcalculations,andthatbybecominggoodsociologistsandgoodhumaniststheycanbecomebetterengineersandbetter-informeddecisionmakers1.

The popularity of technological art also triggers doubt anddiscontent. Technological enthusiasts sometimes forget that allthegimmickstheyuseareinfactproducts,whicharedesignedtomaketheirliveseasierbutalso‘program’them,providingready-madestrategiesofuse.Thus,forexample,thewaytheycommu-nicatebecomestosomeextenddependentonwhatkindofdevicetheyuse.

Among artists who introduce subversive uses of technologies,Paulgranjoniscertainlyoneofthemostinteresting,innovativeandcertainlythefunniest.borninFrance,hehaslivedformanyyearsinWales,whereheteachesartandmakeslow-techornot-so-low-techdeviceswhichdeconstructalmostallstrategiesofhuman-machineinteraction.Combiningperformance,stand-upcomedy,entertain-ment,socialcritique,homemadedisco,andbricolageheisabletoaddresslargeaudiences.Inoneofhisarticlesgranjonwrites:

Aftertenyearsofmakingmachinesinafine-artscontext,Icancondense the meaning of my work in the following way: I ampromoting an engaged attitude towards technological progress,claiminghumanitythroughbeingalearner-makerinsteadofaus-er-consumer.Inmyopinion,acquiringknowledgeofcontemporary

1 Latour b. Aramis or The Love of Technology. / b. Latour / Cambridge,massachusetts,&London,England:HarvardUniversityPress1996,p.VIII.

technologicaltools,adaptedtopersonalabilitiesandinterestsisavaluable way of appropriating and demystifying some aspects ofanenvironmentsometimesdescribedasa ‘suicidaltechnofetishistsociety’,aworldwherethehumanwithitsfragilewetwareandir-rationalsoftwareislikenedtoavirus,gettinginthewayofoptimaltechnologicaldevelopment.InherbookThe Cybernetic Empire2,Ca-nadianwriterCécileLafontainedescribesaccuratelythecultureIamstandingagainst.Shedescribeshowthecyberneticsmodeldevel-opedinthe1950sbyNorbertWienerandmanyadoptershasspreadandcontaminatedphilosophyandhumanities3.

granjon began his career in Cardiff with the video series 2 Minutes of Experimentation and Entertainment.Inaseriesofshortpresentations he plays with numerous custom-made objects. Hisbricolage-style engineering is presented in close-ups, like in how-to-do-it manuals. In Flying SyntheticDoughnut, a typical britishdoughnut is equipped with cardboard wings and launched into averyunsuccessfulflight. Cybernetic Parrot Sausagepresentsanex-perimentinwhichgerman‘wurst’isfurnishedwithanengineandasimpledigitalsampler:fromnowonitcanrotateitsheadandsaysimplephraseslike‘IchbineinWurst’.The Antigravitational Vehicle for Catshastwocatsvolunteeringtotest-flyasmallaircraft.Finallytheyhavetobereplacedbyatoysincetheybothpanicbeforethedeviceislaunchedintoflight.The Little Square Fishisanattempttoresuscitateapieceoffishextractedfromaburger.Theartistreturnsittotheseainasmallbagfittedwithanenginefromatoyboatandalightsensorallowingittoswimduringtheday,andrestbynight.Hamburger Digitizer is a special device designed to duplicate anycommercially available hamburger. The artist constructed it withanolddotmatrixprinteranda laserpointer.ThemostelaboratemachinepresentedintheseriesistheoneshowninThe Fluffy Tama-gotchi.granjon,disappointedwithplasticvirtualpets,bringsbackthefeaturesofarealanimalcompletewithsimpledigestivesystem,excrements,noises,cuddlyhairandmovements.Thetoywascon-trolledbyabbCmicrocomputer.

2 LafontaineC.L’empireCybernétique./C.Lafontaine/Paris:Seuil2004.3 granjon P. Performing with machines and machines that perform/ P.

granjon//InternationalJournalofPerformanceArtsandDigitalmedia,2008.No.4.P.45.

Fig. 1. Animalperformance,2005,screengrab,creditPaulgranjon Fig. 2. ScreengrabfromvideoFluffyTamagotchi,1998,creditPaulgranjon

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granjon’splayfulexperimentspresentedwithdeadpanexpres-sionarereminiscentofJohnbaldessari’svideoperformancesoftheearly70s.baldessariencouragedhiscattoeatcarrots,triedtoteachaplantthealphabet,andattemptedtomakeconceptualartmoreaccessiblebysingingSolLeWit’swords.Allinvain.Whilebaldessa-ri’sworkswerefocusedontheproblemsofanartobjectanditsroleinconceptualism,granjon’svideosare intentionallycritical.Theydealwiththeissuesofconsumerism,stereotypeandpeople’sbeliefinthepowersoftechnology.

Aftersuccessfulexperimentswithobjectsmadeforvideopres-entation,theartistdecidedtoperformliveinfrontofanaudience.Thiswasanewchallenge.Unliketheartefactsusedinvideos,whereeditingwaspossible,machinesmadeforpublicpresentationhadtoperformwelleverytimetheywereneeded.granjonhadnoprofes-sionaltraininginIT,butwhenhediscoveredanoldbbCmicrocom-puterhewasabletolearnbasicprogramming.Themachinefittedwithauserportalsoallowedhimtocontrolcustom-builtexternaldevices:lights,motors,andminiaturesoundgenerators.

In the late 90s Paul granjon developed Z Lab Presents, a per-formancewithRobotHead.Theaudiencewasencouragedtotestawearableroboticmask(madewithareadilyavailableweldingmaskandsomeelectronics)whichcouldbeprogramedtocontrolitsuserfortheexecutionofavarietyoftasks.Theworknotonlytouchedupontheissuesofcontrolandempowerment,butalsoprovidedaninteresting critique of possible functions of technology. A techno-crat’sdreambecameahorrifyingnightmare.

Thereisanotherprojectrelatedtoadreamingranjon’souvre:Onemorningofsummer2002Iwokeupfromastrangedream:

alargehumanoidcreaturecoveredinfurfromheadtokneeswith

novisiblearmsandinhumanlybigspikyhaironitslegswaskaratekickingintheair.Iscribbledadrawingofthecreatureinanotebookandgraduallycametotheideaoftryingtobuildthething,whichbythenIhadnamedFurman.Notunlikemembersofthesurrealistmovementwhosoughtinspirationfromtheirdreams,Iwascuriousto witness a figment of my subconscious being transferred to thephysicalworld.Afterseveralmonthsofdevelopmentandconstruc-tionIdemonstratedFurmaninaliveperformance.Thesix-foothighpneumaticallypoweredrobotwasprogrammedtodeliverakarateside-kick.Fittedwithahelmetandakickboxingpracticevest,Ire-ceivedthekickinthechestandfellontoagymmattress.I,creatorofthemachine,waskickedandfelledbymyowncreationinaliveenactmentoftheFrankensteincomplex4.

The performance with a life-size humanoid robot was inspirednot only by the artist’s dream. Another source of inspiration couldbe a Japanese android called Asimo. This robot, manufactured byHonda,wasdesignedtoimitateahumanbeingineverypossibleway,whilebeingmoreefficient.Itwasequippedwithartificialsenses,anability to communicate with people, and navigate in an unknownspace.Asimoalsobecamefamousforhisabilitytowalk,run,danceandclimbthestairs.yet,duringafewperformancesAsimodidnotliveuptohismakers’expectations.TocounterbalanceAsimo’sversa-tility,granjondecidedtocreatearobotwithonlyonefunctionality—tokickapersonstandingnexttohim.Furmanisunabletoperformanyothertask,but,ontheotherhand,ishighlyreliable.granjonalsomanufacturedamodernversionofFrankenstein’smonster—avio-lentmachinewillingtopunishitscreatorforbeingsoimperfect.

4 granjon,op.cit.,p.48.

Fig. 3. FemaleSexedRobot,2005,creditPaulgranjon Fig. 4. maleSexedRobot,2005,creditPaulgranjon

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FurmanwasthelastmachinecontrolledbyabbCcomputer.Af-terwardsgranjonstarted learninghowtousemicrocontrollers—simplified computers which can be pre-programmed, placed on asmallchip,andusedindependentlyasstand-alonecontrollers.Withtheuseofthisnewtechnology,granjoncoulddesignmoresophisti-catedmachinesandportabledevicesthatwereabletooperatewith-outanyconnectiontoacomputer.Someofthemwereusedduringhismusicalperformances.bybuildingapairofremotelycontrolledanimalistic ears and a mechanized tail the artist made an ironiccommentontheconceptofthe‘humananimal’.Whiletheearswerefurry,thetailwasmadeofasolidpieceofshinynylontocorrespondwith ‘hairless’animal toyschildrenplaywith.This funnydisguisewasusedwhilePaulgranjonwasplayinghiselectric‘zitare”,acus-tom-builtinstrumentmadefromfoundmaterialsfroma60stelevi-sionsetandahandcraftedfretlesswoodenneck.

Sexed Robots(2005)isprobablygranjon’smostambitiouspro-jecttodate.ItwasspeciallycommissionedfortheVenicebiennalewheretheartistrepresentedWales.Insteadofanotherlow-techma-chine, he designed and manufactured two high-tech robots (theylook low-tech, but in fact feature many state-of-the-art technolo-gies)readytoexploretheirenvironment,sometimesentering“in-heat”mode,where they look foramatingpartner. If located, therobotswillattempttohavesexualintercourse.

granjonwantedtousemechanicalfeettomovetherobots,butduetotechnicalissuesdecidedtoreplacethemwithwheels.Final-ly, the sexed robots are autonomous platforms performing inde-pendently.Theymove inalldirections, theyareabletorecognizeobjectsandotherrobotsandofcoursecopulateusingvinylgenitalorgans,maleandfemalerespectively.Theonlythingahumanhastodoistoreplacetheirbatteries:normallythebatteriesprovidemoreorlessfivehoursofoperation.Theartistdecidedtoshowthemasanimalsinazoo.Therobotsperforminaspeciallydesignedenclo-sureinaninstallationcalledThe Robotarium.ThepresentationalsofeaturesanothersmallrobotcalledSmartbot.Thissimplemechan-icalanimal livesona table fittedwith tinyborders. Itmoves inastraightlineuntilithitsoneofthem.ThenitswearsinEnglishandFrench,andafterfewattemptstoovercomethebordersstartstocry,andfallsasleep.Afterawhiletheprocessstartsalloveragain.

UnlikeFurman,The Robotariumdoesnotaimatcreatingironicone-function-only mechanisms. Instead it touches upon the prob-lemofamachineasanindependentbeing.Today’srobots,especial-lythosewhichfeaturenanotechnologies,canonlybemanufacturedbyotherrobots.Inotherwordswehavecreatedtechnologiesthatcanproliferatethemselvesandpotentiallycreatealternativeparal-lelsocieties.

manyartistsworkingwithITrefertomarshallmcLuhan’sworks.Hisideasseemtoneverexpire.What’smore,someofthemcorre-spondbetterwithcontemporarytechnologiesthanwith60stelevi-sion.Hisfamous‘themediumisthemessage’canbeconsideredasoneofthekeyformulasoftheageofsimulation.Oneofthemostim-portantconceptsofthisCanadianthinkeristheoneinwhichtech-nologiesaredescribedasanextensionofman.Itcanbeunderstoodas optimistic vision: people look for inspiration in nature, definetheirneeds,andcreatetechnologiesabletoamplifytheirabilities.Thosetechnologiesarenotdetachedfromnature,theybecomepartofit,andthuscanbefurtherdeveloped.Ontheotherhand,tech-nologies tend to become more and more self-contained, they canimprovethemselves,learnanddefinenewindependentgoals.Ittheend,theoriginalpurposeislost.

L.R.Rutskyproposestheuseoftheterm“fetishism”:Solongastechnologywasconceivedasamatterofinstrumen-

tality,asameansforachievingpracticalends,anynoninstrumentalvalueattachedtoit—suchasanaestheticorstylisticvalue—wasnecessarilyauxiliary,supplemental.Totheextentthatthissupple-mentalvaluecametobeseenashavingavalueinitsownright,itwasviewedasakindoffetishism.Thus,hightech’sincreasedem-phasisontheaestheticsorstyleoftechnologyleadstotheincreas-ingsenseoftechnologicalfetishismassociatedwithit.Infact,the

Fig. 5. SexedRobots,2005,creditPollybraden

Fig. 6. ElectricZitare,1992–2003,creditPaulgranjon

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fetishismoftechnologyseemstobeinherenttoverynotionofhightech;inotherwords,hightechis,bydefinition,fetishistic5.

Feitshistictechnologiesarenolongerfunctional.What’smoretheyencouragetheiruserstoenjoythesurfaceonly,withoutanyattempttounderstandhowtheywork.backinthe80swhenper-sonalcomputerswerefirstintroduced,theuserhadtoacquirecer-tain skills tobeable tocommunicatewith them.Their interfacewasbasedonanaturallanguage,butbothitssemanticsandsyntaxwereveryprecise.Contemporaryinterfacesarenotonlyvisualandintuitive,theyalsoconcealtheirinnerstructure,andoffertrans-parentstrategiesoftheiruse.Thismakestechnologymoreacces-sible,butatthesametimeproducestheeffectofasecond-degreeilliteracy.

Paul granjon criticises technological fetishism in all of hisworks.Hisartefactsarenever‘nice’.Instead,heexploresjunkaes-thetics,kitsch,andconstantly‘recycles’bothideasandobjects.Herealizedthatacontemporaryhumanishelplesswithouttechnologi-calprosthetics.WearenolongerabletonavigateinthecitywithoutgPSdevices.What’smore,wedonotevenknowhowtolightafirewithoutmatchesoralighter.Thisiswhygranjondecidedtomasterthedifficultartofmakingfireusingthesimplebow-drilltechnique,andhasbeendemonstratingittohisaudiencessince2003.Justincasetherearenomatchesathand.

marshallmcLuhan,paradoxically,canalsobeconsideredama-jorinfluenceonPaulgranjon’swork.Discussinghisconceptoftheextensionsofman,wetendtoforgetaboutanotherone.InoneofhisinterviewsmcLuhansaid:

(…)thenewelectrictechnologyisretrogressingWesternmanbackfromtheopenplateausofliteratevaluesandintotheheartoftribaldarkness,intowhatJosephConradtermed‘theAfricawith-in.’6

Thetoolsweshape,shapeus.OurbodiesaretransformedintoCronenberg’snew flesh— limblessentitieswithdisappearingor-gans.In‘Understandingmedia’mcLuhannotesthatanyextensionof the body is always also a kind of self-amputation. The processstarted with the introduction of print, which facilitated access toany kind of ideas. It helped circulate trash, but it also spread thewordofthebible.Nowitonlygoesquickerandquicker,sincetheaccesstomediaissimplyfaster:

With the arrival of electric technology, man extended, or setoutsidehimself,alivemodelofthecentralnervoussystemitself.Tothedegreethatthisisso,itisadevelopmentthatsuggestsadesper-

5 RutskyL.R.HighTechne.ArtandTechnologyfromthemachineAesthetictothePosthuman./L.R.Rutsky/minneapolis—London:UniversityofminnesotaPress,p.129.

6 ‘Playboy’Interview:marshallmcLuhan,‘Playboy’(march1969).P.64.

ateandsuicidalautoamputation,as if thecentralnervoussystemcouldnolongerdependonthephysicalorganstobeprotectivebuff-ersagainsttheslingsandarrowsofoutrageousmechanism.Itcouldwellbethatthesuccessivemechanizationsofthevariousphysicalorgans since the invention of printing have made too violent andsuperstimulatedasocialexperienceforthecentralnervoussystemtoendure7.

Paulgranjoniscertainlyveryfarfrombeingatechnoenthusiast,but also far from being technophobic. He really enjoys the possi-bilitiesoftechnologies.Thatiswhyhisperformancesaresojoyfulandlighthearted—topromotetechnologicalliteracy,toreplaceasocietyofusersandconsumerswithasocietyofmakers.Onlybybe-ingliteratecanwehopetocontroltechnologieswecreateanduse,butwealsoneedtorememberwhywecreateandusethem.Hereisanotherofgranjon’sstories:

InOctober2005IsawontelevisionaPhilipK.Dickandroidhav-ingaconversationwithamemberofthepublicwhowasaskingitwhy Bicentennial Man, was its (K. Dick’s) favourite film. After analarmingly long gap, the android blinked and repeated the ques-tion,beforestartingtobuzzandstutterinanalarmedfashionwordsthatsoundedlike‘bugs,theyareallaroundus,theyareallaroundus!’ObviouslytheprogrammershadoptedfortheandroidtojumpinaK.Dickianschizophrenicresponseloopwhencaughtoffguard.Placed in parallel with the technical and psychological complexi-tyofPhilipK.Dick’ssimulacra,clawsandreplicants,thisexampleillustrateshowfarrobotsstillhavetogobeforetheymatchthesci-ence-fiction-fedpublic’sexpectations.IregularlyfacedisappointedfaceswhenIexplainthatno,Furmancan’twalk…8

ProbablyPaulgranjon’sbiggestnightmareisthatonedayFur-manWILLwalk…

PaulgranjonwasborninLyon,France,in1965,buthaslivedandworkedinCardiff,Walesformanyyears.TheartisthasworkedforCardiffSchoolofArt&Designsince1995.Heisaworldwiderec-ognizedmediaartandperformanceartistworkingwithself-madelow-tech machines. He represented Wales at the Venice biennalein2005.In1988hecreatedZ ProductionsbeforegraduatingfromEcole des Beaux-Arts de Marseillein1990.granjonhasexhibitedin-ternationally,includingamajorsoloexhibitionin2011.Itwascom-missionedbyChapterArtsCentreandtravelledtosevencountries.Othersolopresentationsofhisartinclude:2011—OrielFactory,OrielDavies,Newtown,UK;2008—Hand-mademachines,g39,Cardiff,UK;2006—SexedRobots,Lighthouse,brighton,UK.

7 mcLuhanm.Understandingmedia.TheExtensionsofman./m.mcLuhan/London:mitPress1994.P.53.Firstpublishedin1964.

8 granjon,op.cit.,p.56.

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