Art and Technology Converge at ‘Electric Dreams’
Tate Modern in London has unveiled a significant exhibition titled Electric Dreams: Art and Technology Before the Internet, featuring over 70 pioneering artists who explored technological creativity between the 1950s and the early 1990s. The exhibition runs from November 28, 2024, to June 1, 2025, and is curated by Val Ravaglia.
This monumental showcase reflects the evolution of art amidst technological innovation, highlighting contributions from early artificial intelligence developers like Harold Cohen and Eduardo Kac, along with initial generative artists, such as Vera Molnár. Ravaglia notes that these artists approached technology not as a tool for social networking, but rather as a means of producing and distributing art.
Engaging Pioneering Practices
Ravaglia shared insights during an interview regarding the conceptualization of the exhibition, emphasizing that the selected artists were not preoccupied with social implications of technology. Instead, they focused on creating artworks that would feed into the dialogue surrounding tech and art today.
“I don’t think any of the artists included in the exhibition worried that automation could ever replace human creativity,” stated Ravaglia. “After all, photography had not killed painting or illustration.”
Significance of Early Digital Art
The exhibition provides a unique retrospective on the early days of digital art, showcasing how pioneers like Kac utilized platforms such as Videotexto for artistic expression. The inclusion of Kac’s work exemplifies thoughtful innovation in an era preceding the widespread adoption of the internet.
In the words of Ravaglia, “I made an exception for Eduardo Kac’s Minitel works, because they functioned more as media insertions than social projects.” This highlights the distinction between different forms of artistic interaction with technology.
Looking to the Future
The exhibition serves as a bridge between the experimental practices of the past and contemporary dialogues about the role of technology in art today. It resonates with current discussions about the impact of artificial intelligence and digital networks on human creativity.
As Ravaglia concludes, “The machines artists were working with made artistic processes more laborious, not less, and that’s a significant point in understanding art’s evolution.”
Electric Dreams: Art and Technology Before the Internet is not just an exhibition; it’s a re-examination of how art interacts with the technological landscape, paving the way for future artistic explorations.
