DOUBLE POOR TRAITS, 8″ x 12″

COMPANION
NEW PRINTS ON ALUMINUM PANELS, 2013-2014
PRINTED CATALOG ON ALUMINUM AVAILABLE AT: http://www.blurb.com/b/4636081-companion
PDF OF CATALOG HERE:

The presence of robots and robotic devices is approaching ubiquity, and in most instances, as in the case of prosthesis design, to glorious ends.

The cast of characters in these images pertains to the class of humanoid robots created for purposes of companionship intended to service humans in deliberate and tangible ways, personal or industrial.

It is the intangible intent that is portrayed here, the proximity to the uncanny valley, where the anthropomorphized appearance of these machines aims towards satisfying a human craving for nostalgia, affection, and relatedness that could be construed as benevolent or possibly demeaning, depending on circumstance. Whether posing as a family, in relationship for each other, or solo, they are situated in ways that show their imagined, desired places to be.

I had the opportunity to photograph these robots in March 2013, in Zurich, Switzerland, at the conference and exposition: ROROTS ON TOUR: World Congress and Exhibition of Robots, Humanoids and Cyborgs, organized by the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Department of Informatics at the University of Zurich.

ABOUT THE PHYSICALITY OF THESE WORKS

These images on aluminum portray humanoid robots made of metal, plastic and electronics, situated in human-like environments. Images are rendered in an industrial process where dyes are infused directly onto specially coated aluminum panels.

Rather than sit on the surface of the aluminum, the image becomes one with the panel, moving the work towards being a magically luminous object.

These works are archival, light- and water-proof. For the best resolution, color and luminescence, and to emphasize their “object-ness”, they are rendered as high gloss images. They are pre-fitted with floating hanging apparatus for hanging 1/2” to 1″ from the wall.

– Adrianne Wortzel

NIGHT [S]WATCH, 24″ X 24″