History and Theory of New Media - Research Paper Example

Modern art during the turn of the twentieth century was hence unanimously described by theorists and researchers as an art at the brink of an explosive breakthrough, which challenged and at times threatened the conventional artistic establishments, due to its innovative application (Schwarz qtd. in Picht and Stockmann 11). However the introduction of digital technology in media art has resulted in a serious crisis in the field. According to Cook and Graham (79-80) media art is going through a phase of major transformation and is constantly at loggerheads with conventional art.

However since the institutions which support the conventional art continue to exist, artists in contemporary world are afforded an opportunity to pursue their choice of art thus giving an impetus to use of internet and technology in media art. Cybernetics: Meaning, origin and definition: The term ‘cybernetics’ was first put forward by a French mathematician and physicist Andre Marie Ampere and was used in reference to political science (Ascott 176 ). According to Roy Ascott's theory of cybernetic art the artists must recognize art as a scientific discipline of cybernetics whereby control and communication between the animal and the machine is studied.

Technology helps in creating a new form of art which is inspired by cybernetics and is concerned with controlling and regulating behavior in the environment as well as of organizational structures (Aylett et al. 178). According to Ascott cybernetic art represents "a change in the artistic focus from product to process and from structure to systems, which will turn the observer into a participant" (qtd. in Aylett et al. 179) According to Wiener the theory of cybernetics refers to the representation of a complicated set of ideas and notions (such as the conveying of a message), and is related to the use of systems theory as well as control theory (Wardrip-Fruin and Montfort 228).

Cybernetics in new media art: Theoretical perspectives According to Apter (qtd. in Malina 18) "Underlying cybernetics is the idea that all control and communication systems, be they animal or machine, biological or technological, can be described and understood using the same language and concepts". Along with the development of the theory of cybernetics the field of information technology is also closely related to the manner in which communication systems function and is associated with the type of information which can be encoded, transmitted and decoded.

These theories are widely applied in the communication media such as radio or television whereby the signals are transmitted via computers and other similar data-processing devices. The information theory offers various models which in turn can be used to describe and decipher the manner in which messages are transmitted through feedback loops (Weiner, 348). The various theories developed recently particularly the information theory are influenced by the theory of cybernetics whereby the concept of processing information as an inherent element, as a means of understanding and explaining artistic process is applied.

Various theories such as the theory of aesthetics, the theory of cyb