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Jessica Field

(Pickering, Ontario, Canada)

Jessica Field, Autonomous Robot, 1999
Jessica Field, If it was broken, it would be simple, but it is not, 1999 Jessica Field, Stumbling Robot, 1999 Jessica Field, Personal Scale, 1999
After studying new media at the Ontario College of Art and Design (OCAD) in Toronto, Canada, Jessica Field pursued her interests in electronic arts and in micro-controller programming. Her enthusiasm for this field led her to teach robotics to children as part of the Children's Technology Workshop in Toronto, as well as provide technical assistance and information to OCAD students.

Her first robots, Autonomous Robot, If it was broken, it would be simple, but it is not and Personal Scale were exhibited beginning in 1999 at the 401 Gallery in Toronto. On February 26, 2001, within the context of an interventionist art project, she brought the Stumbling Robot to the Pickering Town Centre, a shopping mall, and documented the robot's precarious steps on video. In order to focus her attention on the interactions between the curious public and the robot, she removed herself from the scene in such a way that it was impossible to link her with the robot. On June 1, 2002, on an invitation from the Pickering Arts Festival, she allowed the Stumbling Robot to wander around the exhibition space.

The artist makes use of robotic and cybernetic principles to establish a parallel between the machine and the human behavior that results from an externally imposed adaptation to the environment.

Jacques Perron © 2003 FDL