Soft Materials

2004
Martin, Daria
Soft Materials was filmed in the Artificial Intelligence Lab at the University of Zurich, where scientific research 'embodied artificial intelligence', producing robots which learn to function through the experience of their bodies rather than from being programmed by a computer brain. In Martin’s film, the robot is introduced to two performers, trained in body awareness, who dance with the robots. They create a scenario which is both tender and amusing, referring back to modernist 'man and machine' works, as well as the performance art of the 1960s, which explored the relationship between the body and physical objects.
  • Artwork Details: running time: 10 minutes 30seconds
  • Edition: 1 of 6 + 2AP (tbc)
  • Material description: 16mm film
  • Credit line: © the artist. Commissioned by The Showroom, London with additional funding from the Wellcome Trust, The Moose Foundation for the Arts and The Elephant Trust.
  • Theme:
  • Medium: Film and Audio Visual
  • Accession number: ACC30/2004

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The Arts Council Collection is the UK's most widely seen collection of modern and contemporary art.

With more than 8,000 works by over 2,000 artists, it can be seen in exhibitions and public displays across the country and beyond. This website offers unprecedented access to the Collection, and information about each work can be found on this site.