Piccinini and the Use of Technology in the Arts

Piccinini and Her Use of Technology.

“The inclusion of technology in the visual arts is significant as it enables the visual arts to mirror the information technologies which have become a necessity to contemporary society.”

In this modern world, technology has become ubiquitous. It is quintessential to the smooth running of our society. It has also become very significant in the contemporary visual arts world. It enables the visual arts to mirror the technological world, allowing it to make statements in new ways about this new age.

The inclusion of technology has enabled artists to evoke new kinds of emotions and reactions from their audiences. One artist that has fully embraced the use of technology is Patricia Piccinini. By using technology she tries to evoke a range of emotions by creating creatures reminiscent of animal embryos. One example of her doing this is in her piece “Restless” (2000). This piece is a coloured photograph of some form of new born animal, with smooth, furless skin and resemblance of a platypus or rhinoceros body sitting in a car. At first glance one might feel afraid or disgusted by this creature. However, Piccinini’s placement of the creature in the car, the relaxed pose of the driver and the view point through the open car door all influence the audience to reconsider their first reaction and come to realise that even with its deformed figure, this creature is actually quite cute, sitting there like a family dog would. Through the use of technology Piccinini has created this animal, exploring new ways to evoke new and conflicting emotions.

Piccinini stated that “she tries in her art to connect to and reflect on something of our times and what is happening in them.” Such as societies increasing need for perfection, particularly in the advertising world.   This perfection is often achieved through computer manipulation of photos. Piccinini reflects this in such works as “Porcelain Lattice” (1997). In which a portrait shot of a...