Artist as Inventor. Uno sguardo archeologico ai media, all'arte
Valentino Catricalà
Italy
Today we live in a complex society. New media such as next-generation computers, smartphones, tablets, and consoles are increasingly present in our private and public lives. These changes are revolutionizing our environment, customs and the way we communicate. The notion of "media" is commonly related to the devices or tools that surround us, they are often still analyzed with a deterministic approach.
The practice of artists, however, questions the idea of a linear evolution of cinema and the media. Without prejudicial interest in the difference between new and old media, artists will mix the images, sounds and processes of different media, coherently renewing concepts of evolution, giving rise to a new vitality in the development of film and media (Krauss , Brian Arthur, Gould).
As Oliver Grau stated, “For more than 50 years, media art has combined the latest technologies with the big questions of our time: artists have critically observed visions of the life sciences and projections on artificial life, the utopias of neuroscience, robotics and cyborgs", thus rethinking the concept of "medium". Italy has been one of the leading countries in this context.