An Appraisal of 25 years of Leonardo and Suggestions for Future Developments

solar art, responsiveenvironments,genetic art) and biosphere-aesthetics?Yes, I think we can. Let us try.And, it may only be fair to add in the context of the 25th anniversary volume of Leonardo,let us use all the artisticand intellectualresources of the databank and image librarythat represent Leonardoas a whole. Three:Whereas art as amusement, as the GreatAttractor,as the Big Market, is just pure art for capital’sprofit and has no links to research and social design,we must go back-and we do go back-to the sourcesof a Parliament of Social Design, as Moholy-Nagy coined it. Maybe an Electronic Bauhausof today is less a school,less an institution,less a building, and more an organic network of people who share the same vision, who shareinstead of buildings--common values. It might be a value-oriented network,with points of reference-like Idonardo. B y no means can an ElectronicBauhaus be less open, less sociallyoriented, less integral. Referencesand Notes 1. Roger F. Malina, “Digital Image-Digital Cinema: The Work of Art in the Age of Post-Mechanical Reproduction,” in Digilal Imnge-Digital C i m :SIG GRAPH ’90Art Show Catalug,Supplemental Issue of Leonardo (1990) p. 37. 2.Jtirgen Claus,Dan EkktronischeBauhaus. Gestaltung mit Umwelf(Zurich, Osnabrcck Edition Interfrom, 1987),andJiirgen Claus, T h e Electronic Bauhaus: GestaltTechnologies and the Electronic Challenge to Visual Art,”in EkctronicA& SupplementalIssue of honurdo (1988),pp. 13-18. 3. The concept of the biosphere was mainly articulated and anticipated by researchers/philosopherslike Vladimir Vernadsky (1863-1945) and Teilhard de Chardin (1881-1955). “Bybiosphere we mean here not, as some mistakenly do, the peripheral surfaceof the globe to which life is confined, but the actual skin or organic substancewhich we see today enveloping the earth.” (Teilhard de Chardin, Man’s Place in Nature [London,Glasgow: Fontana, 19711p. 40; originally published in French, 1956).‘The biosphere is as much, or even more, the creation of the Sun as it is a manifestationof earthly processes.”(Vladimir Vemadsky, TheEiosphm [Oracle,Arizona:Synergetic Press, 19861p. 8;based on the 1929French edition). 4. See Carl Friedrich von Weizsacker, Zeit und Wissen (Munich: Hanser, 1992) p. 445. 5. Raoul H. France, Die pjlanzealsErjinder (Stuttgart: Francksche Verlagshandlung, 1920),and Raoul H. France, Eios.Die Gesetzeder Welt (Stuttgart, Heilbronn: Walter Seifert, 1923). 6. See Christophe G. Langton, ArtificialLife (RedwoodCity, CA: Addison-Wesley, 1989),and Christophe G.Langton, ArtifinalLifeII, 1992:Steven LeT, Artificial Life. The Questfor a New Creation (New York Pantheon, 1992). 7. Terence McKenna, “PlanPlant Planet,”in Whob Earth h i m ,No. 64 (Fall 1989) p. 5. 8. Sibyl Moholy-Nagy, “Introduction.”in Paul Nee, Pedagogical Sketchbook (London:Faber and Faber, 1968) p. 9. JURGENCLAUS Editorial Advisor 54837Baelen, Overoth 5, Belgium. An Appraisal of 25 years of Leonard0 and Suggestions for Future Developments For the past 25 years Leonardohas been a professionaljournal of unique interest for two main reasons: It publishes articlesby artistson their own works, their motivations,and their techniques in an objective manner akin to that of scientificarticles. This aspect of Leonardois very original and I consider it particularlyinteresting . It gives artistsaccess to recent technological advances that can be of use to them. How can these aspectsbe improved and enlarged, and should new aspectsbe introduced? Articlesby Artists Editors should ask for articles from all artists they considersignificant,whether or not they use special techniques or technology . This could lead to documentsof interest to both artists and art historians. TheIllfluenceof Science and TechnologyonArt There are severalways for science and technology to influence art: Artists can use new technology. Artists can represent or express new scientificconcepts,as did Pevsner, for instance,when he represented algebraic surfaces. Artists can express scientificculture more generally,by representing ways in which scientistsunderstand the universe or the relationshipof humans to the universe. The very existenceof science or of new technologiescan influence art by contrast:e.g. after the invention of photography, the “photographic” resemblanceof a portrait could no longer be considered a goal to be achievedin paintings; a painting could not compete with photography on this ground. How could Leonardoanalyse these different aspects? Technology There is a great need for an aesthetic appraisal of art produced with new technologies . Is it enough to...