Electronic Brains
Mon, 21 Jan 2013
With a PhD to finish I don't expect to start any new art projects this year. However, I have plenty of new ideas saved up for the future. One involves an exploration of the 1950s conception of the computer as an "electronic brain".
Over the past year I have been collecting materials from the era. I have found old electrical components, circuit boards, books and original photographs - such as the one above. I think they are perfect for some sort of recontextualisation.
This image particularly interests me. It dates from 1955 and has "Electronic Brains" written on the back, together with a description of how the electronic fire control system helps "seek and destroy" enemy planes.
It strikes me that although computers have changed beyond recognition after almost 60 years, some things don't change - we're still using them to help blow things up in ever more sophisticated ways.
