In week one of Real-World Media, Dan introduced to the prompt: ‘Do we really need the digital to be creative?’, which we approached through analysing our intentions as artists, how we interact with materials and vice-versa.
Technology gradually inches away at an artists’ agency, with recent advancements in AI generating ‘images to spec in seconds with only a few keywords and the click of a button’ (Jonsson cited in Harris 2023). We now question what really is ‘art’? Tim Ingold’s ‘The textility of making’ (2009) discusses this through the hylomorphic model, an authoritarian model where form is ‘imposed by an agent with a particular design in mind’ (p.92), and the textility of making, an alternative ‘intervening in the fields of force and currents of material wherein forms are generated’ (p.92). The ethos of the hylomorphic model coincides with technology, where the ends justify the means, prioritizing intention, while textility resonates with craftsmen, who surrender themselves to their materials (p.92).
This dichotomy was explored through two class activities. One was crafting origami where the paper refused to bend the way I wanted, so I simply let the paper fold itself naturally, fearing it would rip. My origami barely looked like its intended form, yet its unique imperfections made it mine. The other involved editing shots together to music. Filming was aimless, but I received intention through my music, shaping my work, seemingly incoherent to anyone but myself. Folding origami emphasized textility, while editing the video emphasized Hylomorphism. Technology evolved to accommodate intention perfection as arts become a core fundamental of our societal architecture, while traditional tools become outdated, yet continue to maintain relevance with passionate craftsmen.
Reference List
- Ingold, T (2010), ‘The Textility of Making‘, Cambridge Journal of Economics, 34: 91-102, accessed 02 March 2023
- Harris G (28 February 2023) ‘AI will become the new normal’: how the art world’s technological boom is changing the industry’, The Art Newspaper, accessed 03 March 2023. https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2023/02/28/ai-will-become-the-new-normal-how-the-art-worlds-technological-boom-is-changing-the-industry