Page 78 - David Bermant Foundation

or fear factory design, who see the terror and beauty in the sets of “Modern Times.” There is nothing high- tech or computer driven in their work. In some sense, we can look at their production as a throwback to the machine age. a time when the adversary was steel gears not “user friendly” computer programs. Just as Charlie Chaplin’s “Modern Times” are no longer modern, these artists are not creating work about the future. It is not surprising, then, that Barry draws his themes from classical texts, or that Aycock draws upon ancient cosmologies. Their work confronts modern issues, but not directly. The issues are stated in terms of man’s eternal struggle with power, death and place within the cosmos. Takis and Tinguely, from an older generation, have a different outlook. While their work acknowledges the violence and beauty of machines, it is more abstract, less tied to a narrative. Lee Jaffe’s work is an evocation of the terror of machines, but also the terror of nature (a more traditional theme in art).George Rhoads and James Seawright celebrate the beauty of the machine and the computer. Rhoads creates playful non-functional machines. We are not threatened by the machines’ movements or sound, only delighted. Seawright demonstrates the power of the computer. His works are computer driven, and he stresses the computer look. Like the Futurists, these artists embrace technology. Rhoads embraces the mechanical past, Seawright the micro-chip future.The technology is a means to an end. In fact, in all of their work the mechanical aspects are hidden, irrelevant as aspects of the work except in that they(continued on page 78)“I have a Jean Tinguely pieceI loaned tothe Neuberger Museum. When I got there it was in a container. I said to the director, ‘What the hell did you do this for? This piece is a fun piece. You’re supposed to push a button and let it move and make the sounds it makes, otherwise you don’t have a piece of art.’ And she said, ‘Well, I didn’t want anyone to break it.’ I said, ‘Let them break it, we can fix it. This is a part of our society. We have to maintain our machines whether they’re computers or art pieces.’” —DWBJEAN TINGUELY Tokyo Gal 1967 29”H x 11”W x 6”D77