Thank you David for this post.
>(snip)engineers ARE artists.
>Logic and engineering are particular types of art, just as painting and
>sculpting are.
How true. This brings up the theory that art is dead as presented by
supporters of Marcel Duchamp and the Dadists, Italian Futurists as well as
Actionists. _Art is not dead._ Art has simply changed - mutated. The
necessity for "objects of art" is outdated. As presented by Allan Kaprow
(primary Happening artist and author of _The Blurring of Art and Life_), art
is everywhere. As presented by Conceptualists, art is thinking. The
historical concept of art has changed. Modern art has changed. We are in
the era of electronics and computers and virtual realities. Our beings have
changed. We are no longer humans. Our sense of self has become more
refined, just as our emotions are becoming more refined. We can embrace
objects of art, or not. Our choice. The point is, there is a choice.
>(snip) ... classification scheme of 'artists' vs.
>'engineers'.
This is another example of outdated classifications and stiffling art. I'm
currently reading _Iterations: The New Image_. It is a collection of essays
by artists who are also engineers, and a series of images which portray
interactive computer generated designs as well as installations.
Also, a good book to read is _Art & Other Serious Matters_ by Harold
Rosenberg which grasps the cultural influences on the field of art
criticism. The last chapter is "Art is a Special Way of Thinking."
In that art communicates knowledge, why not an engineer.
Natasha Vita More
http://www.primenet.com/~flexeon
Transhumanist Art Web site
* * * * * * * * * *