Robots put on Talent Show - ArtBots First of a Kind

[Philip Galanter]

Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Robots put on Talent Show - ArtBots First of a Kind

NEW YORK CITY, NY - May 16, 2002 (artbots.org)- Battlebots, stand at 
ease - a kinder, gentler, more creative robot has arrived. In fact a 
number of "ArtBots" are getting together in New York City, and with a 
little help from their human friends, they've decided to put on a 
show.

The first annual ArtBots: The Robot Talent Show will take place from 
noon to 6:00 p.m. at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn on Saturday, May 
25th. A hybrid combining aspects of both a juried art exhibition and 
a traditional talent show, more than a dozen artists, engineers and 
tinkerers will contribute to this high-tech, high-concept, high-fun 
one-day event.

Unlike the destructive and dimwitted radio-controlled cars on 
steroids made popular by TV shows like Battlebots and Robotwars, 
ArtBots are creative, autonomous robots more interested in making art 
than wreaking havoc. Some Artbots are musicians; but don't mention 
the word "musicbox," lest they take offense! Each musical ArtBot has 
its own style and technique for making music. Other ArtBots are 
visual artists and will demonstrate their drawing and painting 
prowess for the crowd. Then there are the ArtBots whose talents are a 
bit harder to nail down; you might call them cybernetic performance 
artists!

Curator Douglas Irving Repetto notes "The reach of robotics is 
expanding rapidly, not only in traditional domains like manufacturing 
but also in fields like sports, medicine, and the arts. Being artists 
who often work with technology, we wanted to find a way to highlight 
some of the terrific work that's being done in the world of robotic 
art. Robots have developed a popular reputation as a highly 
competitive and often aggressive bunch; our proposal is that robots 
are what you make of them. And we'd prefer our robots to make art."

Co-Curator Philip Galanter adds "We want this to be fun for the whole 
family. But this is also serious fun. ArtBots represents the emerging 
intersection of computer technology, sculpture, mechanical 
engineering, and generative art. ArtBots is a robot talent show, but 
for the time being it requires humans who can cross boundaries to 
make it happen."

ArtBots includes among its sponsors the Columbia University Computer 
Music Center, the New York University Arts Technology Group, the 
Pratt Institute Industrial Design Program, the Madagascar Institute, 
and the Robotics Society of America.

Additional Details:

Cost:  this is a FREE event
Date:  Saturday, May 25
Time:  Noon to 6:00 p.m.
Location:  Pratt Studios Building
                 Pratt Institute, 200 Willoughby Ave. (near Hall st.),
                 Brooklyn, New York
Pratt Inst. Phone - 718-636-3600
Nearest Subway: G Train - Clinton-Washington station

Additional information, including schedules, directions to the event, 
and information about the participants is available at: 
http://artbots.org

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