Technics, art, and technology

Ever since I traveled through old-world countries like Spain and Italy, I’ve been fascinated by the art of ancient technologies. After seeing the legacy of Greek and Roman architecture and aqueducts, for example, it became impossible to think science and technology were one thing while art and culture were another. There must be a connection. In fact, there’s a word to describe this connection: technics.

Technics: techniques of technologies

In essence, technics refers to how we use technology. Lewis Mumford, a historian of technology, wrote much on the topic. In his book Technics and Civilization, he defined technics as “a translation into appropriate, practical forms of the theoretic truths, implicit or formulated, anticipated or discovered, of science” (Mumford, 1934, p 52).

Now, if that definition sounds a bit esoteric, allow me to clarify. Technics is basically the words technique and technology combined. I like to think of technics as the technique of using a particular technology. For example, pyrotechnics is the technique of using fireworks. So, what does this have to do with art?

Technique and the meaning of art

Let’s delve into original meaning, or etymology, of the word art to answer that question. The Latin word from which we get this term is ars, which means skill or technique. The original meaning matters, because when we think about art, we often think of an artifact—some museum-worthy object of appreciation. But art is more than that. Art is a practical skill or technique.

Hence, the phrase “work of art.” As philosopher John Dewey wrote in his book Art as Experience, we call something a “work of art” because work went into it—not work in a mundane sense, but in the sense of experiential skill or technique (Dewey, 1934, p 168). Well then, what does all this have to do with technology?

Technologies as works of art

To answer, another etymology needs mention. The ancient Greek word for art also happens to be the root word for technology. That word is techne, which (like the Latin ars) means skill or technique. Technology, in this sense, is not separate from art. Artistic technique is what goes into creating or using technology.

This fact becomes apparent when you visit ancient cities or art museums. Think of the many technologies our ancestors created: Egyptian pyramids, Greek temples, the Roman Colosseum, etc. These technologies were artistic creations because they required precise technical skill. Hundreds of years later, it still shows, as anyone who gazes upon the legacy of Egypt, Greece, or Rome can testify.

In sum, the original meaning of art is technique, which is exactly what goes into creating and using technology. Moreover, technique and technology share the same root word (techne), and technics is a modern term that implies this connection (the technique of using technology). However, if you don’t like the term, we can evoke a simpler word: craftsmanship.

Technics: technology as craftsmanship

Occasionally, we retain the ancient affiliation between art and technology when we evoke the idea of craftsmanship. Sometimes we refer to mechanics, technicians, garment technologists, and other vocational workers as skilled craftspeople.

In Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Robert Pirsig writes an illuminating dialogue about why we should retain this old understanding of technology as craftsmanship. Among my favorite conversations in the story is one in Chapter 14 that takes place between the protagonist and an instructor:

“Sometime look at a novice workman or a bad workman and compare his expression with that of a craftsman whose work you know is excellent and you’ll see the difference. The craftsman isn’t ever following a single line of instruction. He’s making decisions as he goes along. For that reason, he’ll be absorbed and attentive to what he’s doing even though he doesn’t deliberately contrive this. His motions and the machine are in a kind of harmony. . . .”

“Sounds like art,” the instructor says.

“Well, it is art,” I say. “This divorce of art from technology is completely unnatural. It’s just that it’s gone on so long you have to be an archaeologist to find out where the two separated. . . .” (Pirsig, 1974, p 209).

If we follow Pirsig’s reasoning, technology is a work of art (at least good technology is). That is, it’s a form of craftsmanship.

Technics and technological aesthetics

Let’s piggyback off of Pirsig’s insight by bringing the discussion from ancient to modern times. For instance, this artistic understanding of technology is probably why Apple gave Microsoft a run for its money. Steve Jobs and other leaders at Apple understood that technology is not just a product to buy; it’s an aesthetic design to perceive and experience. (The word aesthetic, by the way, comes from the Greek work aisthetikos, which means perception.)

Accordingly, Apple took aesthetics seriously, investing in user experience design as well as programming, hiring artists in addition to computer scientists. The result was a useful, but at the same time aesthetically pleasing, technology.

Fun Fact: According to his biography, Steve Jobs was influence by a design philosophy known as the Bauhaus movement, whose advocates “believed that there should be no distinction between fine art and applied industrial design” (Isaacson, 2011, p 126).

Good tech = great art = utility + beauty

And so, whether we’re talking about ancient architecture or contemporary computers, one insight holds true throughout history: Good technologies are also great works of art! Herein lies a takeaway for artists and designers out there: Many truly great artists are those who marry the utility of technology with the beauty of art.

Thoughts on technics, art, or technology? Feel free to leave any thoughts in a comment below, or explore more Technology and Culture articles on this site.

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References

Dewey, John. (1934). Art as Experience. New York: The Penguin Group.

Isaacson, Walter. (2011). Steve Jobs. New York: Simon & Schuster.

Mumford, Lewis. (1934). Technics and Civilization. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc.

Pirsig, Robert. (1974). Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values. New York: HarperTorch.