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Artwork Forge

Have you ever seen a whirring collection of gizmos the size of a truck create a painting that appears to be produced on the spot though the choices and values humans have made online? You will. Emerge 2015, in collaboration with Scottsdale Public Art and ASU techies, features this creation by the artist Toby Fraley. You walk up to this art installation and drop in a couple of quarters. A rough block of wood pops into the machine. You hear the whirring of motors and, as you peer through a window, sawdust flies and blades spin. Meanwhile – behold – this visitation from the future seems to be scouring the internet, seeking what is popular among our choices and values at that very moment. A screen rapidly displays a feed of words and images as the machine seems to think about what it should paint. Then, through the next window, you peer into a paint-splattered chamber where pencils move over freshly cut and sanded wood, before paintbrushes move in and do their work.  Finally a 4-inch by 6-inch painting drops down a chute, for you to take home and forever contemplate. Is this the future of art?