Unit 8: Art, Technology, and Games
Unit Objectives:
- Learn about the history of computer graphics
- Examine the role of technology as a force for cultural maintenance and change
- Discuss the validity of art created with the aid of machines
Example piece of work:
Reflection on piece of work:
The reason why I chose the research portion of this unit is because it was a topic that has intrigued me in the past and something that I have thought about quite a bit. Therefore I was really able to get engaged in this unit and already had my own point of view. According to Beverly Jones in our reading, “Computer Graphics: Effects of Origins” technology today is constantly being made and designed based on the early predecessors of that form of technology. Or as Jones put it, new forms of art and technology are frequently cast in the mode of old forms.” (pg.1). I believe this to be very true and you can see it with almost anything, modern technology takes ideas and concepts from the past. The example I used for my research is the wristwatch. The earliest wristwatches were made simple but functional with only one purpose: to tell time. Now in today world we have watches that not only tell time but are designed to be aesthetically pleasing towards business men, athletes, school kids, etc. However out of all these different types of watches, all of them can be related back to the basic time, because whether they have clock hands or digital they all still wrap around your wrist and their main purpose is to tell time. We can see this to be true with other technology such as bikes, cars, skateboards, phones, etc (shown below). By engaging in this research for this unit I have met a couple of the objectives listed above. In they future to see if this is entirely true I would follow the progress of a brand new type of technology and see how its design progresses or regresses.
The modern snowboard, skateboard, bike, and jacket have all evolved to meet today’s standards and to be aesthetically pleasing to the eye, however all of these forms of technology resemble to the form and function of their originals. For example, bikes still have two wheels, skateboards still have four wheels, and snowboards still have the same shape deck.
Resources: