IMD Forum for 2/6/08: Machiko KUSAHARA
Speaker: Machiko KUSAHARA, Waseda University
Time: Wednesday, February 6, 6-8pm
Location: USC's Robert Zemeckis Center for Digital Arts (RZC)
Room 201 Zemeckis Media Lab (ZML)
Title: "Device Art: Latest Trend in Media Art and Technology from Japan"
Why does Japanese media art tend to be playful? Why are artists so design-conscious, sometimes even designing gadgets themselves? Where does the Japanese "love for technology" come from and how is it reflected in media art? Questioning borders between art, design, technology, or even entertainment, is a worldwide phenomenon today. Such tendency has been most visible and widely accepted in Japan. Analyzing this phenomenon brings a new aspect in the role of media art in our society. This lecture will introduce the concept "Device Art," providing ample examples from Maywa Denki and other artists working within this realm. It will also analyze this Japanese trend within what's currently happening worldwide in art and design.
Bio: Machiko Kusahara is a media scholar and curator. She has published internationally in the field of art, technology, culture and history, including essays on Japanese games and mobile phone culture. With her background both in art, science and technology, she has been teaching computer graphics, multimedia and media study since 1985. She taught at UCLA in 2002-03, and is currently a professor at Waseda University, Tokyo. Kusahara holds a Ph. D. in engineering from University of Tokyo. Her recent research studies the correlation between digital media and traditional culture.