In yesterday’s Networked Media discussion, debate arose over the relationship between technology, and art and culture. Is one dependant upon the other for survival? Or are the two mutually exclusive?
To explore this question we must first realise what is actually meant by technology, art and culture.
As broad as they each are, I’ll try to make it as succinct as possible.
Art – creative expression
Culture – Ideas, customs and social behaviours of a society
Technology – This is where it becomes tricky. Let me elaborate.
Most, including myself, perceived technology as digital, electrical, media related. But it was pointed out to me that this is not entirely accurate. Technologies have existed as long as our species has. Fire was a technology for heat, for cooking. The wheel was a technology for transport. The pen is a technology. Instruments are the technology for music. Semantically, they could be labelled as tools rather than technologies, yet technology encompasses tools, as well as procedures in order to carry out a task. From all the definitions I scoured, this one serves well to illustrate my point:
the methods and tools that a society has developed in order to facilitate the solution of its practical problems. –
Can a culture exist without technology? My short answer is no. Modern culture is reliant upon specialised traditions, which have formed as a result of technological influence. To play devil’s advocate, what about ancient tribes who’s customs involve singing and dancing around a campfire? Firstly, fire is a technology. Singing wouldn’t be possible without voices projecting sound, the technology in this case. Although that could be argued against as society hasn’t developed speech, but were born with the ability. But, in today’s era, cultures revolve around technology. TV, the internet, radio, phones, are the obvious examples of communication technologies, however the list can go on, including cars for transport, harvesting tools and refrigerators for food, vaccinations, medicines and treatments for health problems, clothing for adapting to weather conditions. I could go on. The bottom line is that culture can not exist without technology, unless we were to travel back in time to a primitive era.
Speaking of primitive, our primal characteristics are overridden by technology. In the days of analog phones, and still today, we interrupt one of the most primitive human acts, sex, to answer the phone.
As for art, my view is similar. Drawing, painting, filmmaking, sculpting, collage, songwriting, performing. Without a pencil, paintbrush, camera, script or instrument, it becomes near impossible for the mediums to exist.
Whether technology can advance independent of the previous two categories is a different story. According to the theory of technological determinism, it can. In fact it “drives the development of its social structure and cultural values”. Technological developments are seen as the catalysts of societal and cultural advancements and change. Technology is introduced first, then the cultural impact process takes place. For example, 3D printing began with industrial intentions, but has since been conditioned for art.
I’m posting this online through my computer. So i must be cultured, right?
