DOI
https://doi.org/10.25772/RWYN-SE73
Defense Date
2014
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy
Department
Media, Art, and Text
First Advisor
Eric Garberson
Abstract
Technologies and Artworks: An Interdisciplinary Exploration through Ihde and Latour discusses and applies the phenomenological framework described by the philosopher of science and technology Don Ihde, in his text Technology and the Lifeworld, in relation to recent artworks of sculpture and performance that incorporate technologies. The study considers closely Ihde’s embodiment, hermeneutic, and alterity variants for the purpose of developing conceptual tools to investigate the complicated human-technology relationships present in the works considered. A subsequent discussion of psychasthenia and its relationship to Ihde’s embodiment variant demonstrates the limitations of Ihde’s approach and the need for additional sources in order to create a more comprehensive study. Additionally, this study draws on Bruno Latour’s text Science in Action, and in particular on his concepts of modalities and black boxes in order to contrast to and complement Ihde’s approach. The dissertation concludes with a discussion of the relationship between art and research, the increase in doctoral programs that accept or are designed for artists, a reflection on the effect of this study on the author’s own art practice, and the productive tension between the different processes involved in research and art.
Rights
© The Author
Is Part Of
VCU University Archives
Is Part Of
VCU Theses and Dissertations
Date of Submission
May 2014