Event Blog 3: Judith Hopf at Hammer Museum

Yesterday I visited the Hammer Museum in Westwood and saw many exhibits, one of which was Judith Hopf’s new exhibition.
Example of a vase that was
given human features. 
The overall theme of the exhibition is the impact that technology has on the human experience, such as on perception and group dynamics.  Not only is this relevant to the material in our class but also to society in general as we become ever more reliant on technology. 

One thing that was repeated throughout the different portions of the exhibit was the anthropomorphization of inanimate objects.  I took this as a symbol of the way technology has become so ingrained into society that it is like its own person in our lives.  This reminded me of the material covered in the section on robotics and art, specifically Ford’s automatons and Walter Benjamin’s view that mechanization has changed to nature of art and work.


Drawing of anthropomorphic
laptops from the exhibition.
The most interesting part of the exhibition to me were the laptops that Hopf had given human features like arms, legs, and faces.  Part of the reason I am so drawn to these figures is because I personally use a laptop everyday to do almost everything for both school and my job.  It is interesting to note that neither of the laptops appear to be happy, instead coming off as somewhere between mad and sad.  While I do not know the artist’s specific intention behind these facial features, to me it suggests that technology might have a negative effect on our perspective and the human experience than it would seem.  Typically technology is viewed in a positive light as making our life easier or better but it does also have negative effects like changing the way we communicate and lessening person to person interaction.
Me sitting on the only part of exhibition
that visitors are allowed to touch/interact with.

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