Robotics + Art

This week, Dr. Vesna discusses how Gutenberg's invention of the printing press was proven to make mass production possible which also inspired other scientists to develop ideas about art and robotics. However, creations of robotics using art have not always been beneficial to our society. Take Ford for example. Ford was the first to use the idea of mass production and create the assembly line (Uconline Program, 2012). His used his idea of the assembly line to create cars and had different labors working on different parts (U-S-History, n.d.).

 Back in the early 1940s, it was hard to own a car and only the wealthy were able to afford for such a luxury item. The assembly line lead to the problem of taylorism where workers began to look like they were apart of the products they were producing (Bedoire, n.d.). In a way, Ford's use of the assembly line is an example of Marxism where Marx specifically studied the class relations and societal conflicts between the two class: capitalist and proletariat (Nisbet, 2013). The cars Ford were producing were made so that only the capitalists would be able to afford them. Marx understood that idea and also focused on studying how as a result of capitalism and laborers being stripped away from their mode of production, laborers become alienated and dehumanized (Ollman, 2015). Frederick Winslow Taylor's idea of taylorism is very similar to Marx's idea of alienation because in both perspectives, laborers are not aware that they are being objectified.

Sweden, 1940s, Telefonplan Plant

"Henry Ford." United States History. Web. <http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1621.html>.

United States History. Early Ford Assembly Line. Digital Image.

Ollman, Bertell. "What Is Marxism? A Bird's-Eye View." Dialectical Marxism. Bertell Ollman. Web. <http://www.nyu.edu/projects/ollman/docs/what_is_marxism.php>.

Robert A., Nisbet. "Social Science." Encyclopaedia Britannica. 2013. Print.<http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/551385/social-science/38930/Marxist-influences>

Chaweye, Soraya. Fordism Calling. Digital Image.

Bedorie, Fredric. Sweden 1940s, Telefonplan Plant. Digital Image.

Bedoire, Fredric. "MIDSOMMARKRANSEN! TAYLORISM AS ARCHITECTURE." The History of Ericsson. Web. <http://www.ericssonhistory.com/places/stockholm/Midsommarkransen--Taylorism-as-architecture/>.

Vensa, Victoria. Robotics + Art Lecture. UCOnline. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAZ8bo9T_Pk>, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkP7oSZVkbg>.