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Thesis Info

LABS ID
00890
Thesis Title
Synthetic Creatures of Media Arts: Biorobots and Other Biotechnological Entities as an Art Practice of Hybrid Ecology
Author
Daria Vdovina
2nd Author
3rd Author
Degree
Master of Arts in Media Arts Cultures
Year
2 December 2019
Number of Pages
106
University
School of Communication, Art & Technology, Aalborg University
Thesis Supervisor
Associate Professor Morten Søndergaard
Supervisor e-mail
mortenson AT hum.aau.dk
Other Supervisor(s)
Associate Professor Laura Beloff
, laura.beloff@aalto.fi
Language(s) of Thesis
English
Department / Discipline
Languages Familiar to Author
English, Ukrainian, Russian
URL where full thesis can be found
projekter.aau.dk/projekter/en/studentthesis/synthetic-creatures-of-media-arts-biorobots-and-other-biotechnological-entities-as-an-art-practice-of-hybrid-ecology(32255f45-c401-4f21-b49d-d49947366e31).html
Keywords
Synthetic creatures, biorobot, In Vitro Intelligence, hybrid ecology, ALife, Cartesian duality, embodiment, sentient technology, moist media, biological arts, coexistence
Abstract: 200-500 words
Digital and biotechnologies are significantly changing our understanding of such concepts as life, environment, and ecology. This thesis approaches the development of nature-culture relations through the notion of the synthetic creature. In this regard, the key question of this study is what are the prerequisites and reasons for the emergence of synthetic creatures as a separate phenomenon of media arts. The paper suggests to consider synthetic creatures as a result of artistic practices seeking to introduce new life forms which emerge in a synergetic combination of contemporary technology and synthetic biology. In historical continuity from first cave paintings of chimeras to first automata the study looks at the shift from ancient animism to the system of thought established due to philosophical and technological developments of Enlightenment. Furthermore, this paper explores how this paradigm that used to be dominant in the Western tradition from the times of Cartesian split up to the recent history of the 20th century is nowadays challenged with various alternative conceptions due to ALife research and (bio)technological practices. Inspired by Gilbert Simondon’s view on technology and Bruno Latour’s conceptualization of Gaia up to Roy Ascott’s visionary pragmatism in moist media environment it analyzes the evolution of the idea of coexistence. Exploring Simon Penny’s and Mitchell Whitelaw’s writings it looks at the trajectory of the development of ideas about embodied cognition that inspired Alife research and reactive robotics. Combining these prerequisites it suggests to explore how with synthetic creatures of media art their authors are addressing the idea of the sentient living technology and our future coexistence with it. Thereby, in autoethnographic research carried out during the exhibition In Vitro Agencies (Solu Space, Finland, spring 2019) the author of this thesis explores the role of biotechnological art in the emergence of the new thinking patterns on the blurring border between natural and artificial. Case studies of the exhibited artworks cellF and Bricolage by the Australian art duo of Guy Ben-Ary and Nathan Thompson offers particular examples of how synthetic creatures of media arts as analytical models complement the discussion about technological hybridization of planetary ecology and carry a mythological load into culture through art.