Pittsburgh Art + Technology

“Any sufficiently advanced technology
is indistinguishable from magic.”
– Sir Arthur C. Clarke, Writer and Visionary
[Carnegie Science Center’s Roboworld]

These days, it’s easy to fall under the spell of a city like Pittsburgh.

Though the process of reinvention can be a mysterious one, it is fueled by ever-consistent powers of transformation. Innovation. Diversity. Creativity. Look around Pittsburgh today, and you will see these forces at work, ubiquitously. Yesterday’s red-light district is today’s Cultural District; yesterday’s brownfield is today’s technology park. Gone are the soot-stained memories of yesteryear. Now, our illustrious riverfronts shine with the opportunity for cultural and economic progression.

The Pittsburgh Technology Council’s Art + Technology Initiative formed in 2008 to help our region embrace exactly this opportunity. As part of an economy driven by inventiveness, both technology and the arts share a common thread of innovation – one that has the power to propel regions, like ours, into the next level of reinvention. By generating new ideas, new technologies, and new creative expressions and experiences, both of these sectors have the power to attract and retain the talent that becomes the foundation for a thriving, successful city.

Fostering the intersection of these two vital groups has lead us deeper into the understanding of not only their relevance to the region, but their symbiosis on each other. Technology is important to art because it connects creativity with innovation and the spirit of inventiveness. Whether we are using technology to create our art, or to share our art, it challenges artists to explore new realms of aesthetic experience and cultural relevance. But, on the other hand, Art is important to technology for the most important reason of all. Art gives technology its humanity. And our humanity is the driving force behind every new technology we design and every product we manufacture. We are all makers. Without creativity,we don’t make anything. If we don’t make anything, we don’t progress.

Here in Pittsburgh, we are making a lot. And we are making a lot of changes. Time will tell what it takes to reinvent a city, but one thing is for sure: you don’t need magic – just an innovative spirit and the ability to adapt to an ever-changing world.

Featured article from this month’s special G-20 issue of TEQ Magazine.

~ by Admin on September 8, 2009.

Posted in Art and Technology, Pittsburgh
Tags: Art and Technology, Carnegie Science Center, G-20 Summit, G20, Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Renaissance, TEQ Magazine