Press Release:
- “The Dadaists’ ironic and frequently poetic use of machine forms, Klee’s early foreshadowing of the Surrealist fear of machines in the Twittering Machine …”
- “In an Interview In Duchamp’s studio In New York during his second visit to America In 1915 Plcabla said: ‘Almost Immediately upon coming to America It flashed on me that the genius of the modern world Is In machinery and that through machinery art ought to find a most vivid expression.”‘”
- “The Purists, like the Russian Constructlvlsts, wished to unify all the arts In the service of society and recognized that modern society must be Increasingly dependent on technology.”
- “Since the mid-fifties, artists like Munarl and Tlnguely have devoted themselves to an attempt to establish better relations with technology. ‘Standing astonished and enchanted amid a world of machines, these artists are determined not to allow themselves to be duped by them. Their art expresses an optimistic view toward man, the creator of machines, rather than toward technology as such. They lead us to believe that In the future we may be able to achieve other, more worthy relations with machines. Not technology, but our misuse of It, Is to blame for our present predicament.'”
Introductory Panel–Wall Label:
“Technology today is undergoing a critical transition. We are surrounded by outward manifestations of the culmination of the mechanical age. Nevertheless, the mechanical machine — which can most easily be defined as an imitation of our muscles — is losing its dominating position among the tools of mankind. Its reign is being threatened by the growing importance of electronic and chemical devices — which imitate the processes of the brair and nervous system.
This exhibition is not intended to provide an illustrated history of the machine throughout the ages but to present a selection of works that represent artists’ comments on aspects of the mechanical world. Such statements by artists have been particularly numerous in our own century, perhaps because we are now far enough removed in time from the early development of the mechanical age to be able to see some of the problems and realize some of the implications.
Although we tend to think of machines primarily in terms of their practical use, historically they have frequently been regarded as toys, marvels, or symbols. Since the beginning of the mechanical age and the time of the Industrial Revolution, some have looked to machines to bring about progress toward Utopia, while others have feared them as the enemies and potential destroyers of humanistic values.
Leading artists of our time have held attitudes toward the machine ranging from idolatry to deep pessimism. They have used machines asmetaphors through which to comment upon society, or have welcomed them as providing new technical means of expression.
Many artists today are working closely with engineers in collaborative efforts that may have significance far beyond that of merely producing new kinds of art for our delight. It is obvious that the decisions that will shape our society in the future will be arrived at and carried out through technology. Hopefully, these decisions will be based on the same criteria of respect for individual human capacities, freedom, and responsibility that prevail in art. ”
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