"The Telematic Embrace"

The telematic is defined as art that “involves the technology of interactions among human beings and between the human mind and artificial systems of intelligence and perception.” As I first began shooting for my online photo-blog, I felt that, if anything, I was disconnected from the human aspect of the art I was creating, more so than when I was drawing a model or painting something abstract. I felt that, if the mall was empty, there wouldn’t be a photoessay. But as the project came together, I realized that the finished product could be much more interactive than any other kind of art- especially for the viewer. Particularly in the media artworks we discussed (like Dialtones or Listening Post), the interactivity of the piece and the inclusion of both human and machine elements made the contrast between the two so much more apparent. And because of this contrast, these media artworks caused me to ponder the real meaning of the human element in the context of our digital age.

Technology is such an inextricable part of our daily lives, and I believe art is successful if it fuels new emotion and thought about something you experience everyday. Although we may see machines as just cold, unfeeling metal, telematic art brings a human quality to it that can be jarring, disconcerting, but at the same time, thought-provoking and beautiful.

Telematics presents the opportunity for the viewer to be in the art like no other medium does. You can only look at a painting or sculpture; with telematic art, possibilities are infinite in the digital realm. No piece of digital art we saw put viewers more literally in the art as Mori, where it seemed easy to imagine you were being embraced by the vibrations deep inside the Earth.

Technology can be meaningful much more than just in the sense that it is useful to us. It can be beautiful, because it has become a part of who we are, and a medium that may often be best to convey our modern experience. This is what makes it a valid form of art to me. Because what is art if not a reaction to ourselves and the world around us? If that is part of what art is, then technology must be included. The telematic is constantly changing; there is no final word in technological art. It moves and lives with us, and that is what makes it so interesting and real.