Event Vitrine sur l’art 2019

Artificial intelligence, numeric platforms, visual arts, laser cuts controlled through computers, 3D printing… Can art still be controlled by the artist’s hand today?

In our technological societies, there’s no question about going back to candle lights and galleys moved by oars. If the machine is more efficient and faster than humankind, there are, of course, some domains for which it can never replace us. Machines can compliment, help, adjust, but pure creation is not its forte (even though there is some experimenting with artificial intelligence).

Since the 16th century, we have observed the creation of a void between art professions and art. During the 20th century, the artist became the designer of art works, and their fabrication, often, was handed to specialized technicians. Conceptual art has promoted this way of doing to its peak. In paintings, for example, Sol LeWitt gave instructions on how to execute his work, done by students or assistants. The interpretation sometimes causing differences in the final work.

Simultaneously, art professions have been forgotten, considered outdated. This tendency has, however, slowly been countered over the last few years thanks to a requalification: think for example about the glass artist Dave Chihuly whose pieces can be seen all around the world. Small artists invest in contemporary art: textile art, ceramic, glass. There is a developing movement, in which the attention given to the object is linked to a reflection on the doing and on the bigger or smaller issues, society, the profound self…