Regarding the Automation principle, new media enables the computerization of creation, manipulation, and access. Algorithms can perform these processes, minimizing the need for human intervention.[3] Manovich acknowledges that in the case of new media, “We witness a shift from manual to automated media production as algorithms and software increasingly produce, edit, and distribute media content.”[4]
In response to Automation, I collected images of tribal artifacts from the Lowe Museum and created a dataset. Using TouchDesigner, I applied algorithms to automatically generate two videos: one focused on Mesoamerican culture and the other on African tribal art. I set parameters to deconstruct shape and texture, allowing the software to produce numerous morphed images from this initial input. The result is a 4K looped generative narrative of fragmented images displayed on a pedestal. The piece suggests that we can only grasp a partial interpretation of the original function of these artifacts.
Automation disrupts traditional ideas of authorship and creativity, as software and AI now perform tasks once reserved for human artists and creators. This shift raises questions about human agency in cultural production—who is the true author when much of the creative process is automated? Similarly, as automation challenges authorship, the ritual artifacts on display are anonymous. Their new function and meaning are determined not by their original creators but by the museum, which "automates" their value upon entering the exhibition context.
[3] Manovich, Lev. The Language of New Media. United Kingdom: MIT Press, 2001, p. 49.
[4] Ibid.