Art and Technology

The dream of flight has been in vogue since ancient times. Humans have always been engaged in imagination and illusions about being able to fly like birds. The genius of the 1400s, Leonardo da Vinci, through his artistic abilities, designed flying machines on paper, but none of them ever came into practical existence. Later, the father of aviation, George Cayley of England in the 1800s, introduced the distinguished concepts of lift, thrust, and drag, along with testing gliders. Otto Lilienthal flew a glider successfully, which further inspired the Wright brothers to make their first flight in 1903, which lasted 12 seconds and covered 120 feet. The paper-art dream of Leonardo was finally in the sky — the very sky he must have once looked at with hope.

This whole journey of partial success accompanied by failure gives us a clear picture of how soaring it is for human imagination to come into existence through technology, where art too finds a similar place. Both art and technology are depictions of the infiniteness of the human mind.

When Vinci, through his art, depicted flight, and the Wright brothers, through technology, gave that art life, it became evident that the two were deeply connected. Hereby, in today’s essay, we shall explore how beautiful yet soaring is the relation between technology, art, and imagination — and how the intersection of these has been the basis of human evolution accompanied by an innovative lifestyle. From a man learning to light fire to a man travelling beyond Earth’s gravitation, human civilisation has seen it all — the process that led us to where we stand today, in a technological and artistic revolution.

But a question arises: have we always been accurate? All the time? What about the mistakes that helped us refine our path? Indeed, they play a huge role. As mentioned earlier in the essay — the journey of aviation was accompanied by failures. Otto Lilienthal died while testing his gliders, but left a legacy to be completed by the Wright brothers. It is all a part of this whole process.

On a broader scope, let’s take the example of Galileo Galilei, who was put under house arrest by the Church as they opposed his ideas of the heliocentric model after centuries of belief in the geocentric model. The failure of not being able to convince people of his time didn’t stop Galilei from laying down the observational foundations that followed the heliocentric model proposed by Nicolaus Copernicus. Believing and working on failure is the foundation of technology — and even of art. Vincent van Gogh, for instance, kept going with his paintings, even after being criticised and called out for his distinct art style. This failure of social acceptance, just like Galilei’s, did not hold him back from establishing the form of art he desired. Thus, it illuminates our topic that both art and technology are, indeed, soaring processes of the human imagination.

“I have not failed. I have just found 10,000 ways that don’t work.” Failure gives rise to stubbornness — at least, it did for Thomas Alva Edison. In order to realise the concept of electric light, Edison experimented multiple times, succeeding only once. But that one success gave us a light that still brightens our lives. Failure does not have to be a gloomy, monotonous end. Instead, it creates a distinct vision and ideas that fuel imagination, make perspectives unique, and fill voids — making human life easier and more prosperous.

Just as Michelangelo, though under pressure, had unfinished works like the tomb of Pope Julius II, on which he spent four decades, but was never able to complete — calling it “the tragedy of my life.” Still, he set the grief aside and continued his art of sculpting, even secretly dissecting human bodies to understand how muscles worked, so he could carve them accurately. He carved the muscle extensor digiti minimi, which had not even been discovered during till then, into his work 'David'. It was his perspective to make his art innovative and human. Hence, individualisation gave rise to separate ideas.

“Duality is the law of nature.” Separate ideas cannot always be universally ethical. “I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds,” said J. Robert Oppenheimer, the scientific director of the Manhattan Project that developed the very first atomic bomb — the one that wiped out the populations of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. He was not a maniac. He was just a victim of the unethical imaginative seniority.

The man who started World War II by invading Poland in 1939 was once a master of colour painting. Yet, he was rejected by an art school in Vienna, Austria. Instead of uplifting his art, he uplifted his ego and became the powerful dictator of Germany, driven by the imagination of establishing a dignified Germany — one based on the superiority of the Aryan race. This led to the massacre of Jews. Despite spreading so much propaganda, he ended up committing suicide.

Hence, it is extremely important to live a life guided by ethical algorithms— in both technology and art. Imagination can either make or break us.

In the present 21st century, human civilisation has witnessed numerous accomplishments in both art and technology. The best example of this combination is Voyager 1, which is now travelling in outer space, carrying with it the legacy of human civilisation into the unknown.

Many recent developments — such as India launching Chandrayaan-3 on the South Pole of the Moon, exploring the possibility of colonising Mars — are all outcomes of a constant revolution of doubts, failures, and persistent questioning. C. V. Raman once quoted: “Ask the right question and nature will open the doors to her secrets.”

We now live in a world of supersonic and hypersonic travel, AI co-pilots, and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) for eco-friendly air transport. Although only one out of nine people globally can afford to travel by air, it is still a fact that there was once a time when flights were never even seen in the sky.

“Once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the Earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been and there you will always long to return.” Every year, 20% of Louvre visitors come to see the Mona Lisa — a work Leonardo refined until his death. It shows his dedication toward both art and technology, which were soaring activities of his imagination. Had he not had the courage, would we know him the way we do now?

Human life is meant to be imaginative and innovative. That is what exactly separates us from other species. And that is precisely what gave the Wright brothers the courage to fly high — and change the history of human aviation .