Reading 3 (Hardware)

Machiko Kusahara "Device Art: A New Form of Media Art from a Japanese Perspective"


"What we call device art is a form of media art that integrates art and technology as well as design, entertainment, and popular culture... Technology is at the core of artworks."

This article is about a 2004 device art project that included nine Japanese artists and researchers. It looks at what device art is and where it fits into the art world. These works are mainly outside of museums and galleries which allow for a wider audience and greater access to more users. Usually interactive and process based, these art works expose technology and redefine the meaning of what art is. What I find most interesting about this article is the fact that each and every device art work is made to be simple and beautiful and most importantly fun for the viewers and users. One project titled "TENORI-ON," developed by Yamaha, was a visually stunning device that used illuminated touch-activated buttons that display images and makes sounds, keeping the user intrigued with the simple, but effective art work.

Anthony Dunne and Fiona Raby "Excerpts From Design Noir: The Secret Life of Electronic Objects, Birkhaeuser, 2001"


"Concerned with software not hardware, they invent new uses for existing technologies and promote interaction with 'designed' objects that subvert their anticipated uses."

This article is about redefining the uses and abilities of objects to which we originally put a specific use. The idea that an object is supposed to perform a certain function is being thrown out and many artists are finding new and exciting ways to interact with existing technologies. Art is about exploring new mediums and different ways to use those mediums. In this case the mediums are existing objects repurposed and altered to create new and interesting art works that expand the boundaries of the definition of art. What I found most interesting about this article was the part where it explained the idea of "conceptual design" vs. "conceptual products." The notion that conceptual design "is about life," and conceptual products "are part of life," means that the design aspect is something we are used to seeing in videos and books, whereas the product becomes something new and changes with the users experience with it. "With this form of design, the 'product' would be a fusion of psychological and external 'realities', the user would become a protagonist and co-producer of narrative experience rather than a passive consumer of a product's meaning."