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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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-
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
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.
