The root word of technology 'techne' means 'craft' or 'art' in ancient greek. A recent piece or performance that has inspired me is What do plants sound like? by Mileece who is an experience designer & sonic artist from LA. In this specific piece Mileece converts the infrasonic sounds of plants into an audible sound experience through some code and hardware she designed.
She has attached conductive touch sensors to the plants and during her performance at MoMa she walks around all of the rigged up potted plants and intentionally touches specific ones (each plant has a different tone) and through this creates a harmonic composition of sounds, that is in fact coming from living plants.
I really am fascinated by this piece because of the synthesis of art, performance, sound composition, interactive experience, ecology, and technology.
Mileece is challenging and re-examining many different institutions and industries through her piece. She challenges the capitalist tech industry and culture in utilizing technology in a way that doesn't have to be esoteric or "functional" - it can be creative, simple, and doesn't always have to be consumed, it can be tinkered with . She challenges the art world through her use of alternative and atypical mediums, such as plants as sound. Ultimately I think what she is challenging is the "conventional", and I am all for that.
This has impacted my own creations by inspiring me to do my computer science senior project on something similar that challenges conventions and misconceptions of technology, perhaps using ecology as a medium.
Sadie Coughlin-Prego '16
Hometown- Madison, WI
Computer Science
#FacesofEarlham #FOE #facesofearlham #EarlhamCollege #EC #Earlham #technology #computerscience #art #Mileece
