Julian Stubbe Articulating Novelty in Science and Art The Comparative Technography of a Robotic Hand and a Media Art Installation Articulating Novelty in Science and Art Julian Stubbe Articulating Novelty in Science and Art The Comparative Technography of a Robotic Hand and a Media Art Installation Julian Stubbe Berlin, Germany Unter dem Titel „Articulating Novelty in Science and Art. A Technography of Two Objects“ zugelassene Dissertation an der Technischen Universität Berlin, 2016 OnlinePlus material on this book can be found on http://www.springer.com/978-3-658-18979-2 ISBN 978-3-658-18978-5 ISBN 978-3-658-18979-2 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-3-658-18979-2 Library of Congress Control Number: 2017946923 Springer VS © Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH 2017 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Printed on acid-free paper This Springer VS imprint is published by Springer Nature The registered company is Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH The registered company address is: Abraham-Lincoln-Str. 46, 65189 Wiesbaden, Germany Acknowledgments I would like to begin my acknowledgements by thanking Raphael Deimel and Ralf Baecker, the two protagonists of the following story, who let me into their laboratory and studio so as to learn about their work and the significance of technological objects for epistemic and aesthetic practice. I wish them all the best for their careers and hope both read this account with interest as well as joy. I am particularly indebted to my supervisor Werner Rammert for the inspir- ing discussions and the support he gave me throughout the project. His rejection of dogmatic theory as well as his critical deconstruction of technology in society without escaping into intellectual skepticism deeply inspired this study. I am indebted also to my second supervisor Estrid Sørensen, who provided valuable comments that undoubtedly improved my work. I am thankful to the graduate school “Innovation Society Today: The Re- flexive Creation of Novelty” at which this study was conducted. The four years of this study have been a wonderful and inspiring time especially due to our cordial atmosphere, the intense discussions at colloquia, workshops, and over lunch. I am particularly grateful to Dzifa Ametowobla, Jan-Peter Ferdinand, Miira Hill, Robert Jungmann, Uli Meyer, Jan-Hendrik Passoth, Fabian Schroth, Alexander Wentland, and Emily York, who read parts of my study and the relat- ed papers and provided rich comments and ideas. Finally, this study would have never seen the light of day without Sabine and her continuous encouragement and emotional support, for which I thank her deeply. Contents PART I: Introduction, Study Design, and Theory 1  Novelty and Technological Objects ......................................................... 15  1.1  Introducing the RBO Hand and Mirage .......................................... 20  1.1.1  The RBO Hand and the Development of Robotic Hands ................ 21  1.1.2  Mirage and the Advent of Technologies in Art ............................... 25  1.2  Study Design I: Shaking off Taken-for-Granted Labels .................. 30  1.3  Theoretical Perspectives: Invention, Differential Pattern, or Biographical Passage ....................................................................... 31  1.3.1  Novelty as Invention ........................................................................ 32  1.3.2  Novelty as Differential Pattern ........................................................ 37  1.3.3  Novelty as Biographical Passage ..................................................... 42  1.4  Toward Novelty as Articulation ...................................................... 48  1.4.1  Articulation ...................................................................................... 50  1.4.2  Figures ............................................................................................. 54  1.4.3  Technicity ........................................................................................ 58  1.4.4  Enactment ........................................................................................ 62  1.5  Study Design II: Abstraction, Critique, and Comparison as Method ........................................................................................ 64  1.6  Overview of the Study ..................................................................... 67 PART II: Analysis: Three Articulations of Novelty 2  Identity: How Loose Elements are Connected ....................................... 73  2.1  Enacting the Past through Stories and Their Tangible Traces ......... 75  2.1.1  Stories of Deviation ......................................................................... 75 8 Contents 2.1.2  Material Traces ................................................................................ 78  2.2  Enacting Potentials through Figures, Prototypes, and Bodies ......... 83  2.2.1  Ideas and Their Figures ................................................................... 83  2.2.2  Embodying Material Potentials ....................................................... 88  2.2.3  The Bodily Rendering of Future Objects ......................................... 90  2.3  Articulating an Object Identity ........................................................ 95  2.3.1  Four Articulations of Ideas .............................................................. 95  2.3.2  Object Identities ............................................................................... 97  2.3.3  Novelty as Object Identity ............................................................. 104 3  Form: How Materials Become Effective ............................................... 107  3.1  Formats and Their Technical Features ........................................... 111  3.1.1  Technical Features of Robotic Hands ............................................ 112  3.1.2  Technical Features of Cybernetic Machines .................................. 115  3.1.3  Formats and Their Core Functionalities ........................................ 118  3.2  Hybrid Constellations, Inquiries, and Distributed Agency ............ 119  3.2.1  Robotics Infrastructure and “Everyday Life” in the Laboratory .... 120  3.2.2  Anticipated Conditions and Inquiries with Open Hardware in the Studio ................................................................................... 124  3.2.3  Distributed Agency ........................................................................ 128  3.3  Assembling Technical Forms ........................................................ 130  3.3.1  Embodiment as Epistemic and Artistic Stance .............................. 131  3.3.2  Materials and Manufacturing Method ........................................... 134  3.3.3  Kinematic Architectures ................................................................ 139  3.3.4  Actuation ....................................................................................... 141  3.3.5  Sensors and Input Signals .............................................................. 144  3.3.6  Converters ...................................................................................... 146  3.3.7  Outputs .......................................................................................... 148  3.4  Articulating Novelty through Technical Forms ............................. 154  3.5  Excursus: Two Techno-Aesthetics ................................................ 158 Contents 9 4  Difference: How Categories are Valorized ........................................... 161  4.1  Discursive Practices ....................................................................... 166  4.1.1  Conferences, Festivals, and Galleries ............................................ 166  4.1.2  Journals, Books, and Catalogues ................................................... 168  4.1.3  Graphs, Models, and Technical Drawings ..................................... 168  4.1.4  Images, Videos, and Visual Codes ................................................ 169  4.2  Translating Events into Other Entities ........................................... 173  4.2.1  The RBO Hand: Translating Events into Charts and Pictures ....... 173  4.2.2  Mirage: Translating events into Drawings, Pictures, and Video ... 178  4.2.3  Stabilizing, Concealing, and Travelling of Relations .................... 183  4.3  Referencing by the Authors ........................................................... 184  4.3.1  Referencing the RBO Hand ........................................................... 185  4.3.2  Referencing Mirage ....................................................................... 192  4.3.3  Conceptual, Figurative, and Associative References ..................... 197  4.4  Referencing by the Archive ........................................................... 198  4.4.1  The RBO Hand in Citations, Awards, and Online Newspapers .... 199  4.4.2  Mirage in its Exhibition, Online Articles, and Prizes .................... 206 4.4.3  Passage Points, Selected Elements, and Dynamic Practices .......... 213 4.5  Articulating Difference as Novelty ................................................ 214 PART III: Discussion and Conclusions 5  The Aesthetic Reflexivity of Material Practice ..................................... 221  5.1  Which Reflexivity? ........................................................................ 222  5.2  The Indexicality of Referencing .................................................... 224  5.3  Aesthetic Reflexivity and Materiality ............................................ 226  5.4  From Symbols to Allegories of Technology .................................. 228 6  Articulating Novelty ............................................................................... 233  6.1  Individuating and Relating Objects through Identity, Form, and Difference ............................................................................... 234 10 Contents 6.1.1  Novelty as Individuation and Relation .......................................... 234  6.1.2  Identity ........................................................................................... 235  6.1.3  Form .............................................................................................. 237  6.1.4  Difference ...................................................................................... 239  6.2  Articulations: (Differently) Connected Figures, Technicity, and Enactments .............................................................................. 242  6.3  Outlook .......................................................................................... 246 References ........................................................................................................ 249 The appendix to this book is freely available to download at the author’s product site at springer.com. List of Figures Figure 1: The RBO Hand. .......................................................................... 22 Figure 2:   The Salisbury Hand ..................................................................... 23  Figure 3:   Mirage. ........................................................................................ 26  Figure 4:   Gordon Pask’s The Colloquy of Mobiles .................................... 28  Figure 5:   Hand-like shape in the laboratory’s workshop. ........................... 80  Figure 6:   Structure for testing the translation of the electric signal into a mechanical pull. ....................................................................... 81  Figure 7:   Starfish Grabber. ......................................................................... 89  Figure 8:   Enacting the silicone's softness and potential for grasping.. ....... 91  Figure 9:   Enacting the “landscape situation.”............................................. 93  Figure 10:   The SDM Hand.. ....................................................................... 113  Figure 11:   Ross Ashby’s Homeostat .......................................................... 117  Figure 12:   Inquiry patterns in the RBO Laboratory. .................................. 123  Figure 13:   Baecker using his body as actuator and epistemic tool. ............ 126 Figure 14: Test structure made from wooden plates, hooks, and strings. ... 127 Figure 15: Test structure made from Arduino board, bows of acrylic glass, and wires. ........................................................................ 127 Figure 16:   The RBO Hand’s technical form. ............................................. 131  Figure 17:   Mirage’s technical form in Baecker’s studio, close to its first exhibition. .......................................................................... 132  Figure 18:   The composition of the PneuFlex Actuator............................... 136  Figure 19:   Early experimental setup of cross-line laser and mirror. ........... 139  Figure 20:   Skeleton made of acrylic glass. ................................................. 144  Figure 21:   Computer screen showing frequently changing signals and their algorithmic variation. ........................................................ 147  Figure 22:   The RBO Hand performing a surface-constrained grasp. ......... 150  Figure 23: Mirage’s moving image. ........................................................... 152  Figure 24:   Shadow Hand holding a light bulb. ........................................... 171  Figure 25:   Two kinds of failure in an experiment with the RBO Hand. .... 175  Figure 26:   Graph translated from grasping experiment. ............................. 178  Figure 27:   Technical drawing of Mirage’s design approximately six months prior to the exhibition. ............................................ 180