Kalina Kukielko
Polish Academy of Science, Warsaw, Poland
Kalina Kukielko is a sociology of the arts doctoral student at the Polish Academy of Sciences. She is writing her PhD dissertation on the social roles of neo-avant-garde artists according to Marshall McLuhan’s and Andy Warhol’s theories. Main areas of research: media and communication theory, art of the 20th century, Quality of Life research. Publications: Komunikacyjna koncepcja sztuki Marshalla McLuhana (Marshall McLuhan’s communication theory of art) 2008; Relacja z konferencji "Re-Reading McLuhan” (Report on “Re-Reading McLuhan” conference) 2007; Zrozumiec McLuhana czterdziesci lat pozniej (Understanding McLuhan forty years later) 2005; Artysta w kulturze audiowizualnej. McLuhan, Warhol i widzenie rzeczywistosci (An Artist in Audiovisual Culture. McLuhan, Warhol, and the Perception of Reality) 2005.
Articles of Kalina Kukielko
Marshall McLuhan & Vilém Flusser: The New Model Artists
Marshall McLuhan (1911 - 1980) and Vilém Flusser (1920 - 1991) were primarily media communication theorists and new media philosophers. Both thinkers were deeply concerned with electronic and digital technologies and the impact of technology on human society. Likewise, both thinkers were critical and probably cynical about these developments, however, they believed in the notion that one has to fully understand technology to be able to use and discuss positive models of these new technologies for a better future. Independently, McLuhan and Flusser became interested in the role of the artist in this new digital society, and Flusser in particular elaborated on the means of artistic production. Both theorists delved into collaborative projects with artists; and they produced films and other artistic output over their lifetimes. In our essay we highlight this particular interest and focus on the artist and modes of artistic perception.
McLuhan’s understanding of the artist as society’s safety antenna was, indeed, personified by both men.