From
Technological to Virtual Art
by Frank Popper
The MIT Press (Leonardo Books), Cambridge,
MA, 2007
471 pp., 154 illus. Trade, $45.00/£29.95
ISBN: 0-262-16230-X; ISBN: 978-0-262-16230-2.
Reviewed by Amy Ione
POB 240Berkeley, CA 94701
ione@diatrope.com
Technological and virtual art have
become so prevalent in recent years that
I find it difficult to conceptualize a
world in which static media were the norm.
Frank Poppers From Technological
to Virtual Art chronicles the trajectory
that brought about this revolution. Defining
virtual art as art that allows us, through
an interface with technology, to immerse
ourselves in the image and interact with
it, the book surveys the originality and
power of recent projects and offers some
historical antecedents as well. A well-respected
art historian, long at the forefront of
art and technology studies, Popper is
an appropriate figure to present this
material. Among those who have taken the
art/ science/technology interface from
the fringes and into the mainstream, his
expertise is vividly translated into this
well-documented and comprehensive study
of the paradigmatic change. Here he
argues that the move toward technologically
based projects, largely begun in the twentieth
century, has humanized technology due
to an emphasis on interactivity. It is
also noteworthy that many of the artists
Popper focuses on see their commitment
to art in larger terms. As the book details,
this brings them in touch with politics,
the community, and various social dimensions.
Reading through the publication is like
visiting an exhibition with a smorgasbord
of themes, a global sweep, and sensitivity
to the personal relationship artists establish
with their projects.
Popper sets the stage with an impressive
history of technology inspired work from
1918-1983 that immediately demonstrates
the wealth of material packed into this
volume. Accounting for about a third of
the book, Part I includes historical antecedents
and key figures. This section begins to
make it clear that the artistic imagination
sometimes finds the "right" technology
through incremental experimentation. Surveying
technologies that include lasers, holography
and eco-technological, computer and communication
art, the overview also offers a fine foundation
for the coverage of contemporary technological/virtual
art and artists, which comprises the bulk
of the publication. Part II is subdivided
into sections on materialized digital-based
work, off-line multimedia and multisensoral
works, interactive digital installations,
and multimedia online works (net art).
Covering 1983-2004, the second part examines
plastic and cognitive issues, sensory
experiments, interactivity, and experimental
modalities more recently pursued. Well-crafted
vignettes of key innovators, in both sections,
underscore that many practitioners who
bring science and technology into their
research are sensitive to aesthetic values.
What sets them apart is that formal elements
are addressed in tandem with investigations
of everything from politics to philosophical
questions about the real, their own virtual
"space," connections between the real,
the virtual, and the imagined, and multisensory
experience. Indeed, the juxtapositions
of themes and formal goals accounts for
the works strength and power.
Given its sweep, From Technological
to Virtual Art is a hard book to evaluate
critically. Popper shows a willingness
to let the artists speak for themselves
and honors their intentions by explaining
their aspirations non-judgmentally. This
style of authorship successfully outlines
artistic histories and the movements
growth but does not contextualize the
kinds of critical themes that are apt
to arise in a general academic discussion
of the art, science, and technology interface.
It is my impression that when critical
questions were introduced in depth it
was because an artist brought this dimension
into a discussion with Popper. This minimalistic
approach led me to relish the few parts
where deeper issues were more fully brought
into play. One of these exceptions was
in the chapter on Interactive Digital
Installations; perhaps the strongest in
the book. Here there is some discussion
of how the transcendental approach of
immersive, virtual projects (such as Char
Davies) intersects with the historical
view. Stepping aside from his theme driven
biographical survey style, Popper mentions
how transcendence, as discussed by Plato,
Kant, and other philosophers who have
thought about this topic, differs from
the common presentation of virtual art.
Including more developed commentary throughout
the book on how the field has re-visited
philosophical issues and artistic questions
would have added a nice tension to the
chapters.
Overall, the book works best as a tribute
to the art/science/technology paradigm
and as an invitation to seek out the pieces
presented. I was delighted with the background
material on a number of artists whose
work I have encountered over the years,
and on figures I know more by name than
from exposure to their contributions.
For example, Leonardo readers will
particularly appreciate Poppers
summary of the life, inventive mind, and
artistic contributions of Frank Malina.
Also of note were summaries on Patrick
Lichty, Nina Czgledy, Catherine Ikam and
Louis Fléri, Roy Ascott, Orlan,
and Rafael Lozano-Hemmer. On the other
hand, even a thorough introduction cannot
include the wealth of talent within this
community. In this case, I was sorry there
was no mention of Margaret Dolinskys
work and wished that Victorian Vesnas
research, particularly with nanotechnology,
had received a fuller treatment. I also
found myself surprised by some of the
examples Popper chose. Jenny Holzer, for
instance, is not someone I think of in
terms of technological or virtual art,
although her neon sign projects are well
known and definitely qualify as technological
artifacts. Just as I was ruminating on
the Holzer section, I learned that she
now has new silk-screen works on display
at the Venice Biennial. Her latest turn
to this older technology is a reminder
that as the virtual becomes more a part
of the art world, artists still move in
and out of diverse media, at times returning
to more traditional forms.
Perhaps the books greatest contribution
is its expansion of the art/science/technology
literature. Popper mentions early in the
book that his intention is to present
the history of technological and virtual
art in a manner that goes beyond the contributions
of Oliver Grau and Christine Buci-Glücksmann.
In this he is successful. Grau makes a
compelling case that media art has a history
that is receiving more (well-deserved)
attention, and Buci-Glücksmann demonstrates
that technological art now has a place
at the table. By contrast, Popper highlights
the characters who have brought about
our current vision. His much-needed history
of key players brings Vasaris sixteenth-century
Lives of the Artists to mind. This
is not a trivial comparison. On the one
hand, both authors present brief overviews
of the revolutionary artists of an era.
On the other hand, both authors offer
presentations that need to accommodate
to the technological realities of their
time. Vasaris descriptions were
primarily textually based due to the limitations
in printing visual images in the sixteenth
century. Although the second edition included
woodcuts of the faces of most of the artists
mentioned, there were no reproductions
of the artworks he described. Ironically,
the Popper book is similarly limited in
relation to the artworks. One or two small
black and white static images accompany
the short sketches of the various artists.
While numerous, these are a far cry from
the actual installations.
Having said this, it should surprise no
one that the distance between an illustrated
text and physical reality was foremost
on my mind as I read the book and prepared
this review. During this period, coincidentally,
I visited Anthony McCalls installation,
You and I, Horizontal (2005) at
the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
Although McCall is a figure Popper does
not include, he could easily have found
a place in the mix. Interacting with this
piece, which emphasized the sculptural
qualities of a light beam as it comes
in contact with a changing geometrical
projection and particles in the airhere,
vapor from a theatrical haze machine,
I could not help but think how poorly
this active piece would translate if presented
as a small black and white reproduction,
even though it is a monochromatic work.
Spending time digesting its magical qualities,
as the haze seemed to continually change
its "physical" form(s) in real time and
physical space, underscored how necessary
the unfolding experience is to our comprehension
of technological art, virtual art, and
art in general. To be sure, Poppers
words convey that he recognizes how hard
it is to articulate all that "embodiment"
adds in the book form. Fortunately he
did try to address this limitation through
the artist list at the end of the volume,
which provides URLs that supplement the
print medium.
Finally, it is important to underscore
that a short review cannot even begin
to touch on the many wonderful tidbits
of information Popper packs into this
history. Without a doubt, his knowledge
of the field and personal acquaintance
with the range of artwork discussed elevates
his exposition of motives, technology,
and the creative problem-solving involved
in moving a piece from idea to actuality.
Even given the distance between the publication
and the actual experience of the work
Technological to Virtual Art, (particularly
with the supplementary material), provides
a nice overview of the field. It would
be a wonderful choice for a textbook in
a course exploring the professionals who
have nurtured the current art/science/technology
climate. Educators could enlarge the book
with the URLs, onsite visits, and other
media examples that more fully convey
the artistic projects outlined in the
text. Indeed, and to Poppers credit,
much of the material about the work has
genuineness to it that came about through
his extensive reliance on personal interviews
rather than secondary sources. Crafted
to touch upon key themes within the work
and the creative problem solving that
motivated the artistic imagination and
technological development needed to bring
an aspiration to fruition, the book is
a welcome addition to the field. Those
who are new to the art/science/technology
discipline will find the sweeping survey
offers a nice map. Those who know the
terrain will no doubt learn more about
groundbreaking practitioners and appreciate
the wealth of detail that illuminates
how we got to this point in time. Libraries
now building collections that cover the
emergence of recent virtual and media
projects should definitely put this book
on their shelves. From Technological
to Virtual Art is a book that marks
the arrival of the art/science/technology
perspective and presents the work of many
of the innovative people responsible for
its ascendancy. I highly recommend it.