Oct 20, 2017, 7:44 AM ETInterview

Experiments in Art and Technology with Artforum Editor Michelle Kuo

Founded in 1966 by artist Robert Rauschenberg and Bell Labs research scientist Billy Kluver.
Originated from a specific collaboration where Kluver created a battery-powered neon letter "R" for Jasper Johns' painting to eliminate visible cords.
Expanded from individual projects into a scalable network to connect artists with engineers specializing in fields like pneumatic technology.
By 1970, membership peaked at nearly 5,000 individuals, accessible via a simple sign-up form.
Recruitment strategies included outreach to IEEE trade fairs, university visits, and word-of-mouth networking across art and engineering circles.
The organization operated without a formal hierarchy, relying on ad hoc meetings often held in private homes or schools.

Undertook one of their largest endeavors involving over 40 artists and engineers for a performance series at the Armory in New York.
Booked the venue nine months in advance to utilize its cavernous space and echo times of up to five seconds.
Opening night drew prominent figures including Senator Jacob Javits and the New York avant-garde, who faced initial technical delays.
Rauschenberg's piece featured a tennis match between Frank Stella and Mimi Kanarek, where each ball strike triggered amplified sound and sequentially extinguished bank lights.
The performance utilized classified infrared military technology (sourced from a Japanese supplier) to project ghostly spectral images of performers onto large screens once the lights went out.
The event featured 20 nights of performance and attracted nearly 10,000 visitors despite initial technical failures like broken microphones.
The Swedish performance festival rejected an EAT proposal, reportedly objecting to the high degree of agency given to engineers over artists.

Collaborated with the American Foundation on Automation and Employment, led by labor lawyer Theodore Keel, to address fears of job displacement by robotics.
Renamed "Automation," the New York townhouse project served as a testing ground, headquarters, and workshop space for art and technology.
Renovated the space by two architects with closed-circuit television, video monitors, and workstations for converting experimental film to video.
Produced the first cable broadcast of artist television programming in 1970–1971, airing on two local access channels in New York.
The project aimed to mediate labor fears by demonstrating how technology could change rather than eliminate labor roles.
The space eventually transitioned into a gallery, though many of its experimental infrastructure and concepts were not sustained long-term.

Executed the Pepsi Pavilion at the 1970 Osaka World's Fair, a massive global collaboration involving Japanese, European, and American artists and engineers.
Constructed an 180-degree hemispherical mirror dome made of inflated Mylar, utilizing technology similar to early telecommunication satellites.
Inside the dome, visitors experienced 3D near-holographic inverted reflections, sound effects, and projections simulating "real and virtual images."
The project faced legal disputes and budget overruns, culminating in EAT being effectively kicked out of the pavilion by Pepsi representatives.
Pepsi replaced the experimental soundscapes by John Cage and David Tudor with the song "It's a Small World" following the public opening.
The experience was described as traumatic for the EAT team but demonstrated the group's ability to construct global technical teams.

Faced significant criticism from the counterculture and anti-Vietnam War movements for perceived complicity with the military-industrial complex.
Received reviews in Art Forum accusing the group of aligning with military interests due to the use of classified or military-grade technology.
Operated during a period of intense futurist optimism contrasted with dystopian fears regarding automation and human perception.
Many artifacts were lost or fell into disrepair because they did not conform to traditional art genres like sculpture or painting.
Robert Rauschenberg's 1965 sculpture, featuring embedded transistor radios, required constant retrofitting and updating by the Centre Pompidou to remain functional as AM/FM standards and radio technology evolved.
The group influenced subsequent corporate art-tech programs, such as the LACMA "Art and Technology" program, which paired artists with entities like Lockheed Martin and JPL.
Unlike corporate programs, EAT aimed to explode beyond the museum, creating portable equipment and site-specific works rather than static objects.

Contemporary art and technology intersection is characterized by the ubiquity of consumer tech, leading some artists to intentionally slow down perception or explore non-digital mediums.
Artists like Trevor Paglen and Haroun Farraki are cited for investigating "post-vision" technologies and automated systems that operate without human intervention.
Discussion suggests blockchain is not yet widely used for tracking authenticity in digital art, though some artists aim to subvert the concept of the "original" entirely.
The conundrum of machine-generated art persists, with critics noting that human agency remains necessary to trigger processes even within algorithmic systems.
Future predictions emphasize the need to create public institutions for technological knowledge and experience, mirroring the civic role of museums.
Recommended reading includes Fred Turner's From Counterculture to Cyberculture regarding the shift from counter-ideals to Silicon Valley capitalism, and Maria Goff's The Artist as Producer on Russian productivist art.
Historical criticism by Clement Greenberg is highlighted as essential reading for understanding the stakes and battles that defined the modern art establishment.