In the last weeks we worked on our website making it responsive and updating bits and bobs. Nina shares some thoughts on how technology influences art, our lives and the Hybrid Plattforms current activities.
Technology is the defining topic of our times. Especially the internet, with its seemingly limitless applications, has taken over our lives in a way unimaginable only a decade ago. It revolutionized how we work, communicate, and relate to the world at large, driving globalization at a frantic pace.
It is little wonder then that technology has once again become one the most important themes in arts, films and books. In 2013 we watched Spike Jonze's feature film “Her”, whose protagonist – a lonely writer – falls in love with an operating system. Just a few years later the scenario changed drastically in Oliver Stone's film “Snowden”, where technology plays an essential role as an illegal global surveillance tool. In the meantime, we visited the thrilling exhibition “Nervous Systems” in the Haus der Kulturen der Welt, curated by Tactical Tech, a collective of practitioners, technologists, and activists who work to de-mystify the politics of data in an international context. Their exhibit unveiled the most diverse approaches to technology and highlighted its role in our society by displaying conceptual art pieces and allowing visitors to explore their own digital traces.
In our Hybrid Talks we explore how computers can change the approach of designers, architects and sound artist and also discover how new trends in technology create a new form of journalism through virtual reality, a new artistic practice and of course a complete new set of research opportunities. Covering topics such as “Computational Design” and “Virtual Reality” we also engaged with the topic of technology in the 21st century on a rather practical level by rebuilding our website; it has become more sleek, more modern – and much more responsive. Now, if you’re on the go, you can not only enjoy our content and news via Facebook and Twitter but you can also browse our website no matter how big or small your screen. Enjoy!
– Nina