Frank Popper (17 April 1918[1] – 12 July 2020) was a Czech-born French-British historian of art and technology and Professor Emeritus of Aesthetics and the Science of Art at the University of Paris VIII. He was decorated with the medal of the Légion d'honneur by the French Government.[2] He is author of the books Origins and Development of Kinetic Art, Art, Action, and Participation, Art of the Electronic Age[3] and From Technological to Virtual Art.
Popper documented the historical record of the relationship between technology and participatory forms of art, especially between the late 1960s and the early 1990s.[4]
In his books Origins and Development of Kinetic Art and Art, Action and Participation, Popper showed how Kinetic Art played an important part in pioneering the unambiguous use of optical movement and in fashioning links between science, technology, art and the environment.[5] Popper was a champion of the humanizing effects of such an interdisciplinary synthesis.
Key to his initial thinking and activities as an aesthetician, cultural theorist, curator, teacher and art critic was his encounter in the early 1950s with the kinetic artist (and author of the book Constructivism) George Rickey. He subsequently encountered the artists Nicolas Schoffer and Frank Malina, whose works were based on first or second-hand scientific knowledge. Also Op Art in the early 1960s had a powerful effect on him. Indeed, Op proved to be a strong predecessor to what he was calling Virtual Art in that Op Art called attention to the spectator's individual, constructive, and changing perceptions - and thus called upon the spectator to transfer the creative act increasingly upon him or herself. Op beckons forth a consideration of the enlargement of the audience's participatory role; both in regard to the perception of meaning and actual physical changes to the work of art. Popper also had many personal encounters in Paris with Groupe de Recherche d’Art Visual, Carlos Cruz-Diez, Yaacov Agam, Jesus-Rafael Soto and Victor Vasarely, which proved to have had a substantial impact on his view of art and art history.
Virtual art
Following this inclination Popper took interest in the works of Piotr Kowalski, Roy Ascott and many others working with the early concept of networking. These artists confirmed his interest in spectator participation, which brought him to the late 1980s and the 1990s when immersive virtual reality and digital art began to become established. Popper began to investigate a range of works emerging in this era, including those of Shawn Brixey, Ebon Fisher, and Joseph Nechvatal. To explain and illustrate the emergence of a techno-aesthetic Popper stressed the panoramic and multi-generational reach of virtual art. As regards to virtual art, openness is stressed both from the point of view of the artists and their creativity and from that of the follow-up users in their reciprocating thoughts and actions. This commitment to the teeming openness found in virtual art can be traced to the theories of Umberto Eco and other aestheticians. During his late career Eco expressed a consideration of the computer as a spiritual tool.[6]
Popper used the term, virtual art, in reference to all the art made with the technical media developed at the end of the 1980s (or a bit before, in some cases). These include human-machine interfaces such as visualization casks, stereoscopic spectacles and screens, generators of three-dimensional sound, data gloves, data clothes, position sensors, tactile and power feed-back systems, etc. All these technologies allowed immersion into the image and interaction[disambiguation needed] with it. The impression of reality felt under these conditions was not only provided by vision and hearing, but also by the other bodily senses. This multiple sensing was so intensely experienced at times, that Popper could speak of it as an immersive virtual reality (VR).
Frank Popper in 2008
In his 2006 book From Technological to Virtual Art, Popper traced the development of immersive, interactive new media art from its historical antecedents through digital art, computer art, cybernetic art, multimedia and net art. Popper showed that contemporary virtual art is a further refinement of the technological art of the late twentieth century - and also a departure from it. What is new about this new media art, he argued, is its humanization of technology, its emphasis on interactivity, its philosophical investigation of the real and the virtual, and its multisensory nature.[7] He argued further that what distinguishes the artists who practice virtual art from traditional artists is their combined commitment to aesthetics and technology. Their "extra-artistic" goals - linked to their aesthetic intentions - concern not only science and society but also basic human needs and drives.
Definition
Defining virtual art broadly as art that allows us, through an interface with technology, to immerse ourselves in computer art and interact with it, Popper identified an aesthetic-technological logic of creation that allows artistic expression through integration with technology. After describing artistic forerunners of virtual art from 1918 to 1983 - including art that used light, movement, and electronics - Popper looked at contemporary new media art forms and artists. He surveyed works that are digital based but materialized, multimedia offline works, interactive digital installations, and multimedia online works (net art) by many artists.[8]
Virtual art, he argued, offers a new model for thinking about humanist values in a technological age. Virtual art, as Popper saw it, is more than just an injection of the usual aesthetic material into a new medium, but a deep investigation into the ontological, psychological and ecological significance of such technologies. The aesthetic-technological relationship produces an unprecedented artform.
Sharing Popper's focus on art and technology are Jack Burnham (Beyond Modern Sculpture 1968) and Gene Youngblood (Expanded Cinema 1970). They show how art has become, in Popper's terms, virtualized.[6]
Bibliography
Origins and Development of Kinetic Art, New York Graphic Society/Studio Vista, 1968
Kinetics, Arts Council of Great Britain, 1970
Art—Action and Participation, New York University Press, 1975
(in German) Die kinetische Kunst: Licht und Bewegung, Umweltkunst und Aktion, DuMont Schauberg, 1975
(in French) Le déclin de l'objet, Le Chêne, 1975
(in French) Art, action et participation: L'artiste et la creativité aujourd'hui, Klincksieck, 1980
(in Spanish) Arte, Acción Y Participación: El Artista Y La Creatividad De Hoy, Akal Ediciones, 1989
Agam, Harry N. Abrams, 1990
Art of the Electronic Age, Thames & Hudson, 1997
(in French) Reflexions sur l'exil, l'art et l'Europe: Entretiens avec Aline Dallier, Klincksieck, 1998
From Technological to Virtual Art, Leonardo Books, MIT Press, 2006
(in French) Écrire sur l'art : De l'art optique a l'art virtuel, L'Harmattan, 2007
Yvaral (with Britta Vetter & Emma Healey), Robert Sandelson Ltd., 2007
Footnotes
^Art, action and participation by Frank Popper. National Library of Australia collection
^ (in French). Archived from the original on 2010-06-03. Retrieved 2010-05-30.
^Lieser, Wolf. Digital Art. Langenscheidt: h.f. ullmann, 2009, p. 283
^Christiane Paul, Digital Art, Thames & Hudson Ltd. p. 219
^Kristine Stiles & Peter Selz, Theories and Documents of Contemporary Art: A Sourcebook of Artists' Writings (Second Edition, Revised and Expanded by Kristine Stiles) University of California Press 2012, p. 450
^ abJoseph Nechvatal, Frank Popper and Virtualised Art, Tema Celeste Magazine: Winter 2004 issue #101, pp. 48–53
(in French)Art, action et participation : l'artiste et la créativité aujourd'hui, Klincksieck, 1980
(in German)Kunst zwischen Natur und Technologie. Ein Gespräch mit Frank Popper, Jürgen Claus, Treffpunkt Kunst. Keil Verlag Bonn, 1982, pp. 19–22
(in German)Künstler und sozialer Wandel, Gespräch mit Frank Popper, Jürgen Claus, ChippppKunst, Ullstein Materialien, Frankfurt am Main/Berlin, Bd. 35232, 1985, pp. 116–120
(in French)Réflexions sur l'exil, l'art et l'Europe : Entretiens avec Aline Dallier, Klincksieck, 1998
Origins of Virtualism: An Interview with Frank Popper conducted by Joseph Nechvatal, CAA Art Journal, Spring 2004, pp. 62–77
Joseph Nechvatal, Frank Popper and Virtualised Art, Tema Celeste Magazine: Winter 2004 issue #101, pp. 48–53
Charlie Gere, Art, Time and Technology: Histories of the Disappearing Body, Berg, 2005, p. 146
(in German) Lieser, Wolf. Digital Art. Langenscheidt: h.f. ullmann, 2009, p. 283
Kristine Stiles & Peter Selz, Theories and Documents of Contemporary Art: A Sourcebook of Artists' Writings (Second Edition, Revised and Expanded by Kristine Stiles) University of California Press 2012, p. 450
(in German) Jürgen Claus, "Frank Popper", in: "Liebe die Kunst. Eine Autobiografie in einundzwanzig Begegnungen", Kerber/ZKM, 2013, pp. 178–186, ISBN978-3-86678-788-9
Christiane Paul, Digital Art, Thames & Hudson Ltd., 2015, p. 219
External links
Claus, Jürgen (12 April 2018). "Frank Popper, Spirit Rector of Kinetic Art, is celebrating his 100th birthday". Leonardo.
(in French) Centre d'Art Contemporain Frank Popper, Marcigny, France
frank, popper, american, professor, frank, popper, april, 1918, july, 2020, czech, born, french, british, historian, technology, professor, emeritus, aesthetics, science, university, paris, viii, decorated, with, medal, légion, honneur, french, government, aut. For the American professor see Frank J Popper Frank Popper 17 April 1918 1 12 July 2020 was a Czech born French British historian of art and technology and Professor Emeritus of Aesthetics and the Science of Art at the University of Paris VIII He was decorated with the medal of the Legion d honneur by the French Government 2 He is author of the books Origins and Development of Kinetic Art Art Action and Participation Art of the Electronic Age 3 and From Technological to Virtual Art Frank PopperPopper in 2006Born 1918 04 17 17 April 1918Prague Kingdom of Bohemia Austria Hungary now Czech Republic Died12 July 2020 2020 07 12 aged 102 Lugano Canton of Ticino SwitzerlandNationalityFrench and BritishAlma materParis Sorbonne UniversityKnown forHistorian of art and technologyScientific careerFieldsAesthetics and the science of artPopper documented the historical record of the relationship between technology and participatory forms of art especially between the late 1960s and the early 1990s 4 Contents 1 Kinetic Art and Op Art 2 Virtual art 3 Definition 4 Bibliography 5 Footnotes 6 References 7 External linksKinetic Art and Op Art EditIn his books Origins and Development of Kinetic Art and Art Action and Participation Popper showed how Kinetic Art played an important part in pioneering the unambiguous use of optical movement and in fashioning links between science technology art and the environment 5 Popper was a champion of the humanizing effects of such an interdisciplinary synthesis Key to his initial thinking and activities as an aesthetician cultural theorist curator teacher and art critic was his encounter in the early 1950s with the kinetic artist and author of the book Constructivism George Rickey He subsequently encountered the artists Nicolas Schoffer and Frank Malina whose works were based on first or second hand scientific knowledge Also Op Art in the early 1960s had a powerful effect on him Indeed Op proved to be a strong predecessor to what he was calling Virtual Art in that Op Art called attention to the spectator s individual constructive and changing perceptions and thus called upon the spectator to transfer the creative act increasingly upon him or herself Op beckons forth a consideration of the enlargement of the audience s participatory role both in regard to the perception of meaning and actual physical changes to the work of art Popper also had many personal encounters in Paris with Groupe de Recherche d Art Visual Carlos Cruz Diez Yaacov Agam Jesus Rafael Soto and Victor Vasarely which proved to have had a substantial impact on his view of art and art history Virtual art EditFollowing this inclination Popper took interest in the works of Piotr Kowalski Roy Ascott and many others working with the early concept of networking These artists confirmed his interest in spectator participation which brought him to the late 1980s and the 1990s when immersive virtual reality and digital art began to become established Popper began to investigate a range of works emerging in this era including those of Shawn Brixey Ebon Fisher and Joseph Nechvatal To explain and illustrate the emergence of a techno aesthetic Popper stressed the panoramic and multi generational reach of virtual art As regards to virtual art openness is stressed both from the point of view of the artists and their creativity and from that of the follow up users in their reciprocating thoughts and actions This commitment to the teeming openness found in virtual art can be traced to the theories of Umberto Eco and other aestheticians During his late career Eco expressed a consideration of the computer as a spiritual tool 6 Popper used the term virtual art in reference to all the art made with the technical media developed at the end of the 1980s or a bit before in some cases These include human machine interfaces such as visualization casks stereoscopic spectacles and screens generators of three dimensional sound data gloves data clothes position sensors tactile and power feed back systems etc All these technologies allowed immersion into the image and interaction disambiguation needed with it The impression of reality felt under these conditions was not only provided by vision and hearing but also by the other bodily senses This multiple sensing was so intensely experienced at times that Popper could speak of it as an immersive virtual reality VR Frank Popper in 2008 In his 2006 book From Technological to Virtual Art Popper traced the development of immersive interactive new media art from its historical antecedents through digital art computer art cybernetic art multimedia and net art Popper showed that contemporary virtual art is a further refinement of the technological art of the late twentieth century and also a departure from it What is new about this new media art he argued is its humanization of technology its emphasis on interactivity its philosophical investigation of the real and the virtual and its multisensory nature 7 He argued further that what distinguishes the artists who practice virtual art from traditional artists is their combined commitment to aesthetics and technology Their extra artistic goals linked to their aesthetic intentions concern not only science and society but also basic human needs and drives Definition EditDefining virtual art broadly as art that allows us through an interface with technology to immerse ourselves in computer art and interact with it Popper identified an aesthetic technological logic of creation that allows artistic expression through integration with technology After describing artistic forerunners of virtual art from 1918 to 1983 including art that used light movement and electronics Popper looked at contemporary new media art forms and artists He surveyed works that are digital based but materialized multimedia offline works interactive digital installations and multimedia online works net art by many artists 8 Virtual art he argued offers a new model for thinking about humanist values in a technological age Virtual art as Popper saw it is more than just an injection of the usual aesthetic material into a new medium but a deep investigation into the ontological psychological and ecological significance of such technologies The aesthetic technological relationship produces an unprecedented artform Sharing Popper s focus on art and technology are Jack Burnham Beyond Modern Sculpture 1968 and Gene Youngblood Expanded Cinema 1970 They show how art has become in Popper s terms virtualized 6 Bibliography EditOrigins and Development of Kinetic Art New York Graphic Society Studio Vista 1968 Kinetics Arts Council of Great Britain 1970 Art Action and Participation New York University Press 1975 in German Die kinetische Kunst Licht und Bewegung Umweltkunst und Aktion DuMont Schauberg 1975 in French Le declin de l objet Le Chene 1975 in French Art action et participation L artiste et la creativite aujourd hui Klincksieck 1980 in Spanish Arte Accion Y Participacion El Artista Y La Creatividad De Hoy Akal Ediciones 1989 Agam Harry N Abrams 1990 Art of the Electronic Age Thames amp Hudson 1997 in French Reflexions sur l exil l art et l Europe Entretiens avec Aline Dallier Klincksieck 1998 From Technological to Virtual Art Leonardo Books MIT Press 2006 in French Ecrire sur l art De l art optique a l art virtuel L Harmattan 2007 Yvaral with Britta Vetter amp Emma Healey Robert Sandelson Ltd 2007Footnotes Edit Art action and participation by Frank Popper National Library of Australia collection Presidence de la Republique in French Archived from the original on 2010 06 03 Retrieved 2010 05 30 Lieser Wolf Digital Art Langenscheidt h f ullmann 2009 p 283 Christiane Paul Digital Art Thames amp Hudson Ltd p 219 Kristine Stiles amp Peter Selz Theories and Documents of Contemporary Art A Sourcebook of Artists Writings Second Edition Revised and Expanded by Kristine Stiles University of California Press 2012 p 450 a b Joseph Nechvatal Frank Popper and Virtualised Art Tema Celeste Magazine Winter 2004 issue 101 pp 48 53 Margaret Boden Mind As Machine Oxford University Press 2006 p 1089 Origins of Virtualism An Interview with Frank Popper conducted by Joseph Nechvatal CAA Art Journal Spring 2004 pp 62 77References EditRoy Ascott Behaviourist Art and the Cybernetic Vision in Cybernetica Vol IX No 4 1966 Vol X No 1 1967 29 in French Naissance de l art cinetique Gauthier Villars Paris 1967 Origins and Development of Kinetic Art Studio Vista and New York Graphic Society 1968 in Italian L Arte cinetica Einaudi Turin 1970 in German Die Kinetische Kunst Licht und Bewegung Umweltkunst und Aktion Dumont Schauberg 1975 in French Le declin de l objet Le Chene 1975 Art Action and Participation Studio Vista and New York University Press 1975 Yaacov Agam monographie Abrams New York 1976 in French Art action et participation l artiste et la creativite aujourd hui Klincksieck 1980 in German Kunst zwischen Natur und Technologie Ein Gesprach mit Frank Popper Jurgen Claus Treffpunkt Kunst Keil Verlag Bonn 1982 pp 19 22 in German Kunstler und sozialer Wandel Gesprach mit Frank Popper Jurgen Claus ChippppKunst Ullstein Materialien Frankfurt am Main Berlin Bd 35232 1985 pp 116 120 in French Reflexions sur l exil l art et l Europe Entretiens avec Aline Dallier Klincksieck 1998 Origins of Virtualism An Interview with Frank Popper conducted by Joseph Nechvatal CAA Art Journal Spring 2004 pp 62 77 Joseph Nechvatal Frank Popper and Virtualised Art Tema Celeste Magazine Winter 2004 issue 101 pp 48 53 Charlie Gere Art Time and Technology Histories of the Disappearing Body Berg 2005 p 146 Margaret Boden Mind As Machine Oxford University Press 2006 p 1089 in German Lieser Wolf Digital Art Langenscheidt h f ullmann 2009 p 283 Kristine Stiles amp Peter Selz Theories and Documents of Contemporary Art A Sourcebook of Artists Writings Second Edition Revised and Expanded by Kristine Stiles University of California Press 2012 p 450 in German Jurgen Claus Frank Popper in Liebe die Kunst Eine Autobiografie in einundzwanzig Begegnungen Kerber ZKM 2013 pp 178 186 ISBN 978 3 86678 788 9 Christiane Paul Digital Art Thames amp Hudson Ltd 2015 p 219External links EditClaus Jurgen 12 April 2018 Frank Popper Spirit Rector of Kinetic Art is celebrating his 100th birthday Leonardo in French Centre d Art Contemporain Frank Popper Marcigny France From Technological to Virtual Art book by Frank Popper Frank Popper interviewed by Joseph Nechvatal Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Frank Popper amp oldid 1133845795, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
