Artificial Retirement closes this Sunday September 11th – one could say it is retiring! – and will include performances by both humans and machines alike, in the form of a weather station, a drip-drawing ‘bot, and other technological installations. Here are a few shots from a series of talks I attended last night:

Artificial Retirement specifically addresses the question, What is failure in this technologically aided era? The show presents artworks and performances by artists working with ideas of ‘Failure, Imperfection, and Destruction.’ We live in a time in which electronic devices successfully execute our orders offering more convenient and improved lifestyles. It is almost impossible to detach from this digitally-driven world. Is this because we feel safer, healthier, and happier than ever before? Or is it simply that we have become so dependent on these devices that we no longer question their efficacy?

What differentiates humans from machines is that we act autonomously. In the digital world though, autonomous acts can be found within errors, when the machines are malfunctioning, not working as they are expected, as they are needed. The participating artists respond to these failures through art and research, poetically and philosophically.

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