Olliver Dyens says: “Art is the sensitive questioning of metaphysics…Science is the objective questioning of metaphysics. When metaphysics is changing, art changes also.”

He says there are three historical realities: Biological reality, technological reality, hybrid reality. He says we all agree on biological reality. [Really? Are fetuses people? Are people in persistent vegetative states alive? How about animist cultures?]

Technological reality is the perception of the world through human and machine senses. We see more than just the biological slivver of reality.

Hybrid reality (he says) is the intrusion of technological reality into what we consider to be exclusively human: The soul, consciousness, etc.

Digital art is the production of hybrid reality. Virtual reality is the most intense questioning of hybrid reality. “How will integrate humanism with hybrid reality?”

(He shows a beautiful interactive artwork of his.]

[These distinctions are useful, although I would argue about whether biological reality is a primitive on which we all agree. IMO, we’re conscious all the way through. I don’t think this matters to his argument, though.] [Technorati tags: ArsElectronica2005]

Categories: Uncategorized dw