February 14, 2005

• Robots

  

  We are five years into the 21st century. When do the robots arrive? In the midpoint of the last century, scientists, futurists, writers, artists, cartoonists, and philosophers began predicting that as early as the 21st century, human sized robots will eventually arrive to “do the dirty work of humanity”, to “serve man” by performing arduous, dangerous, unclean, and repetitive tasks, freeing humankind to pursue a life of fulfillment, enlightenment, and leisure. Our robots would be slaves, workmates, and soulmates. They would be programmed with false emotions and look just like us. They would serve as sex slaves and surrogate selves……………So begins the NEW Cultural Blender website, ROBOTS, newly created this past weekend. The composite image above, also created this past weekend, expresses my fear that the “real, humanoid” robots developed by the Honda company, and called Asimo, after Isaac Asimov, who wrote the book of short stories, “I, Robot”,  are in fact ready to take our jobs in short measure. My roommate works for Honda Gardena in the parts department. I saw an advertisement for the Honda Asimo, showing one of these childsize robots comingling with a typical American family, and I showed him the ad. He knew Honda was about to announce their Asimo robot. I told him they’re probably training the robot to sell auto parts in place of Joel!  

  I became inspired, and over the past two weeks have been “planning” the ROBOTS website. Once I had the basic design and the number of sections in mind, I was set to create one of my “weekend wonders”, a complete website to debut on Sunday night, only two days after starting. I began with a Google image search for robots, and spent most of Saturday gathering images, making the navigation images, page logos, and writing some of the content, which has been highly researched and documented. I put the site online at around 8 p.m. Sunday night, and while there are two significant pages which are unfinished, this is a fairly complete website, and looks good in it’s “Grand Opening” format.

  The site is pretty comprehesive, even in it’s “Under Construction” stage. I have always been intrigued by the subject of Robots, and this is my tribute site, done in the AllThingsMike “style”, complete with histroy, plenty of images, an essay on the cultural influence of mechanized men, and a page featuring my own newly created robot composite art. There are also pages detailing robots in Literature and movies, and a page dedicated to Honda and the Asimo robot. Pin Up painter Sorayama inspired the logo and navigation image art, and I dedicate a complete section to this fine graphic artist, and will be shortly featuring links to some of his works online.

  As it is Valentine’s Day today, this website has truly been a labor of love. Each composite and the layout itself has been carefully crafted to make for a pleasing display, and all the content has been chosen with care. It is always my hope, when creating web pages and sites, to allow AllThingsMike to “be the only website you will ever need.” I scoured the internet for robot sites, and distilled all the information for the casual reader, and supply countless links to my inspiration and references. 

  I hope my Xanga readers and readers in general appreciate the “scope” of a project like this. I have always called my website, AllThingsMike, “an electronic experiement in art.” Creating an “instant website” including all graphics and links, that is a number of sections and pages long, is not “simple”, but imbued with artistic integrity and a plan, I am able to present this “work” which is almost completed, as if it has sprung, Athenalike, fully grown, onto the internet only  a couple of days after I cemented the idea.

  I don’t know of anyone else I can think of who creates “art” in this way, and this quickly, and still maintains integrity of purpose. I hope you enjoy, and I’ll be updating the site later tonight and tomorrow to finish adding the secitons that are still unfinished.

  

  The first section, “Robots in the Real World” details the history of robotics. The second section, “Robots On Parade in Pop Culture”, which is still under construction, will show the many robots with which we are familiar through exposure on television and in the movies. The third section, “Robots in Literature” lists the many instances in which robots show up in poems, plays, novels and short stories throughout history.The fourth section tells the story of “The Honda “Asimo” robot, who is the inspiration for this website. Section Five is the showcase for the robotic computer “Composited Artwork of Michael F. Nyiri”.Lastly, in another art tribute in the sixth section, artist Hajime Sorayama, whose sexy images of very sleek silver female robots as well as more conventional pinup art. is profiled. Visit the world of ROBOTS, exclusively at the Cultural Blender on AllThingsMike.

   

   

  • 8:23 am
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