As concepts, art and technology have traditionally existed in separate spheres with little to no overlap. One concerns itself with the practical benefits it can offer people, whilst the other reaches into the subjective to enrich and stimulate the observer’s experience. One, a measurable, empirically quantifiable endeavour versus the phenomenon of provoking emotional and intellectual responses of qualitative degree and effect. 

But, as technology has developed, art has benefitted. What with the rise of AI art, non-fungible tokens and simply the evolution in the way that art is viewed, the connection between the two becomes more apparent and intertwined. But what would happen should the two opposing concepts be married together simultaneously, in real-time rather than tech developing separately and affecting art later? Could any benefit be gleaned, or would they simply cancel each other out?

Studio Roosegaarde has been exploring the Venn diagram centre of these ideas without compromising on application nor presentation. Based in Rotterdam, Netherlands, the studio runs numerous projects, each with their own unique slant but existing where beneficial innovation meets interactive aesthetic. Recognised by multiple award bodies, the studio’s ventures redefine the compatibility between the concepts of art and technology whilst paving the way for future hybrid innovations. 

Take their sustainable dancefloor; a club setting where the mixing booth and lights are both powered by the dancers themselves. The kinetic energy exerted from the feet of the movers onto the 6×11 module dancefloor produces 25 watts per module, powering the installation itself inside Club WATT and rerouting any excess to the power grid. 

Not only does this open up clear applications, such as kinetically powered treadmills in gyms and kitchens self-sustained by their floors, but presents new avenues of thought for sustainable creations. By mixing art and enjoyment with renewable energy solutions, sustainable options may become more attractive, public-backed part-replacements for traditional energy sources. In a world where demand is the key driver of resource consumption, reimagining self-sustaining and self-producing technologies to harness it could help in the race against the changing climate.

The studio’s efforts don’t stop there; URBAN SUN, a world-first artificial sun exhibit that channels 222nm far-UVC light into an eclipse effect from above, introduces another timely solution for current and near future obstacles. This UVC ray, meeting the safety standards set out by the International Commission on Non-Ionising Radiation Protection, offers an up to 99.9% reduction in coronavirus and influenza strains on the skin or clothes of anyone who passes through the eclipse ring of the exhibit.

Here, rather than vice versa, an opportunity for art to influence technology arises. The visually stimulating interactivity of the installation, coupled with its relevance to modern global concerns, offers inspiration to current and future potential developers of tech solutions. A comparison comes from motion picture ‘Interstellar’, in which through creating software that could render a black hole on screen, they were able to discover new scientific phenomena about the distortion of space around the event horizon.

Yet Studio Roosegaarde’s execution on both fronts of ingenious applied science with stunning visual art opens up more routes to innovation than would be achieved from just pursuing either one alone. Despite being apparently unrelated domains, the studio demonstrates the potential of amalgamating these concepts. The marrying of tech and art, when delivering the forefront of each, can only complement one another as they push us forward into innovation, sustainability, and subjective experience.

By Harry Coombes