Dorothy R. Santos

Feeling incredibly honored to be a part of the latest edition of SFAQ. The issue is focused on arts and technology. I contributed answers to Peter Dobey’s article, “What is Arts and Technology?”.  Some of the other contributors to the piece include an all star line-up of community leaders, educators, and creatives such as Ben Valentine, Willa Köerner, Ian Alexander Adams, DC Spensley, Hanna Ragev, Sheena Vaidyanathan, and Marcella Faustini.

One of the questions we were asked was, “What does the relation {art, technology} mean for our time?” Here’s my answer to the first question,

Intersectionality. The idea of art and technology means an in-between space that has yet to even be defined. This sounds incredibly abstract, but it’s the first thing that comes to mind. Starting with the Experiements in Arts and Technology (E.A.T.) collaborative group formed in the 1960s by artists and engineers including Robert Rauschenberg and Billy Klüver, the intersection of artistic practices with engineering and technology was in its nascent stages. These individuals were discovering what the other discipline could offer and what skills they could learn from one another. Art and technology also means convergence. Historically, artists and technologists seemed like such separate disciplines. But in contemporary art practices, digital technologies and programming languages are starting to become more common tools for creatives expression themselves.