Kerry Mercer – Research and communication skills / Task 9 | WSA Research and Communication Skills

Technology and art have always had an intertwining relationship, that has revolutionised one another. So much so that in the 21^st century there are endless ways to produce art through technology, this is often categorised under the title of ‘New Media’. This has evolved from simple spouts of mechanical technology used to create art, such as the printing press, which dates back as far as 1440 (1). To electronical technology or ‘digital electronics’ which made its first appearance from the 1970’s (2). The sweeping change from mechanical to electronical came under the ‘Digital Revolution’ which brought sweeping changes to how an artist created their art during the latter 20^th century.

This in-turn has lead up to the creation of Aaron Koblin’s work of Flight Patterns. This is a video that “visualization of airplane traffic over North America during a 24-hour period” (3). Each colour represents a different type of aeroplane that travelled in and across north America on this day in August 2010. This highlights how almost every single bit to his piece of work has originated from some type of digital data. From obtaining the flight patterns, to creating the actual video, Koblin has relied solely on technology to reflect upon how interlinked we are with it and how our lifestyles also reflect this.

I’m inspired from this piece as it show the capabilities of what ‘New Media’ art can involve. It also highlights how using technology is a completely new art form, as “technology in art allows us to stimulate our senses” (4) in ways that might not have been possible one upon a time.