Bridging Two Cultures: Towards an Interdisciplinary History of the Artist-Inventor and the Machine Artwork

Abstract

This paper asserts the existence of a long tradition of practice which exploits electronic and mechanical technologies for cultural purposes. It is a quintessentially interdisciplinary practice that pursues technical research which exceed the constraints of a positivist pursuit of knowledge and likewise exceeds the base constraints of production of technological commodities for market, because it is integrated into larger socio-political and techno-cultural flows. It has been marginalised by both Art History and the histories of Engineering and Computer Science for a variety of reasons, some of which are discussed. Art invention and technical innovation