Experiments in Art and Technology

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Experiments in Art and Technology (E.A.T.) was a non-profit and tax-exempt organization established to develop collaborations between artists and engineers. "E.A.T initiates and carries out projects that expand the role of the artist in contemporary society and eliminate the separation of the individual from technological change."Pavilion E.A.T. wasn't a concrete channel that formalized an art-science interchange in some elaborate bureaucratic institution as much as it served to facilitate person-to-person contacts between artists and engineers. New York Times It was officially launched in 1967 by the engineers Billy Klüver and Fred Waldhauer and artists Robert Rauschenberg and Robert Whitman who had previously collaborated, most notably in 1966 when they organized 9 Evenings: Theatre and Engineering, a series of performances that united artists and engineers and accelerated these relationships. The performances were held in New York City's 69th Regiment Armory, on Lexington Avenue between 25th and 26th Streets. An homage to the original and historical 1913 Armory show.

These early collaborations continued to break down barriers between the arts and scientists in the 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s, and indirectly launched and supported the experimental sound artist John Cage, dancer Merce Cunningham, and pop artist Andy Warhol.

Twenty-eight regional E.A.T. chapters were established throughout the U.S. in the late 1960s to promote collaborations between artists and engineers and expand the artist’s role in social developments related to new technologies. In 2002 the University of Washington hosted a reunion to celebrate the history of these regional liaisons and consider the legacy of E.A.T. for artists working with new technologies in the twenty-first century.

[edit] References

• Information Arts: Intersections of Art, Science, and Technology, Steve Wilson. MIT Press, ISBN 0-262-73158-4
• Art of the Electronic Age, Frank Popper, 1993, Thames and Hudson Ltd., London, and Harry N. Abrams Inc, New York, ISBN 0-8109-1928-1
• Pavilion: Experiments in Art and Technology. Klüver, Billy, J. Martin, B. Rose (eds). New York: E. P. Dutton, 1972
• The Man Who Made a Match of Technology and Art, John Rockwell. New York Times. (Late Edition (East Coast)). New York, N.Y.:Jan 23, 2004. p. E.3

[edit] External links

• E.A.T Reunion 1966/2002
• Screening of Documentary on Robert Rauschenberg's 1966 E.A.T. performance piece "Open Score" at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C.