RODNEY EWING

WHEN WE MOVE
 
     "When We Move: A View of Technology through a Black Lens," was inspired by the essay "Technology and Ethos" by Amiri Baraka. In his essay, Baraka challenges Norbert Wiener's thesis that “machines are an extension of their inventor creators'' by stating, “That is not simple once you think. Machines, the entire technology of the West, is just that, the technology of the West.” In his writing, Baraka brings up several points that dare the reader as a Black creator to think about what ingenuity could look like free of, as he puts it, the “European restraint which first means the restraint of self-determined mind development. Think what would be the results of the unfettered blood inventor-creator with the resources of a nation behind him. To imagine–to think–to construct–to energize!!!”
     With this body of work, I follow this line of inquiry that Baraka put forth with seven new works on paper that explore a range of topics, including mass communication, space exploration and travel, and robotics/artificial intelligence. With this project, I am not creating work for the sake of  science fiction, but to embody the “human striving” that Baraka points out as paramount. With each composition, I am creating an alternate mode of technology that works harmoniously with the human condition and provides what Baraka calls the "temporary perfection of the evolutionary human." This involved finding my own visual architecture by utilizing new forms, while also embracing older technology such as 8-track tapes that work in sync with my version of Artificial Intelligence. For me, this project represents heritage as much as it does invention.