Emergence, Agency, and Interaction-Notes from the Field

Area of Science:

• Robotics
• Interactive Art
• Artificial Life
• Cybernetics

Background:

• Development of interactive installations and robotic artworks in the 1990s.
• Technological, theoretical, and discursive contexts of the era.
• Artistic exploration of embodied experience versus cognitivist computer science.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the development of key robotic artworks: Petit Mal, Sympathetic Sentience, Fugitive I, Traces, and Fugitive II.
• To analyze the critical context of cognitivist computer science in relation to artistic practice.
• To explore themes of agency and interaction in art informed by cybernetics and artificial life.

Main Methods:

• Documentation and discussion of specific artworks (Petit Mal, Sympathetic Sentience, Fugitive I, Traces, Fugitive II).
• Critical analysis of cognitivist computer science.
• Application of cybernetic and artificial life principles to artistic creation.

Main Results:

• Several interactive installations and robotic artworks were developed.
• The works provide a counterpoint to cognitivist approaches by emphasizing embodied experience.
• Exploration of agency and interaction within the context of artificial systems.

Conclusions:

• Robotic art and interactive installations offer a critical perspective on artificial intelligence and computer science.
• Embodied experience is a crucial element in understanding human-computer interaction.
• Cybernetics and artificial life provide valuable frameworks for contemporary art practice.