Technology as Art: 'Device Art' as a New Japanese Paradigm

Abstract

Device art is a proposal to re-examine art-science-technology relationship both from contemporary and historical aspects. The concept is derived from Japanese media art scene, but it has a universal nature reflecting what is happening in today's media art. The term "device art" may sound controversial, which is on purpose. In media art the choice and role of technology to be used often has a significant importance to the theme and concept of the piece. Traditional notion of art that defines the content of a piece separate and above from the technology or scientific phenomenon it utilizes is no longer appropriate in many cases. It has been often observed in Japanese media art today that a system or a device an artist invents for his/her work is an art piece itself. By examining the phenomenon and understanding it from historical aspects in Japanese art history, we could see that there is a new (and old at the same time) notion of media art that may help understanding the relationship between art and technology, at the same time bringing a new way of seeing "interactive" art against "non-interactive" art.