Episode 4 - Art Appreciation

"This is art." I said, holding a painting in my hands.

"APPRECIATE IT!" I yelled, bringing the Mona Lisa closer to POD 000.

Suddenly, the Mona Lisa disappeared, it was just a hologram created by POD 001.

"Welcome to another episode ladies and gentlemen. I'm sorry for using a fake Mona Lisa, but the real one as well as many other works of art have been locked away in a vault by the Human Heritage Recovery Management Organization." I walked through the white corridors of the gallery where I was.

"Today we will talk about art, but first we need to answer a question. What is art? It is quite a subjective question. Art, from the Latin ars, means technique or skill, but that is the dictionary definition. What is art for you who are watching us? For me, art is a way for people to express themselves. I know, it's the most generic answer possible, but that's what I believe." I stopped in front of a big white wall.

"We are here in this abandoned art gallery to talk about some of the ways human beings express themselves. But first, how about we talk a little about the history of this place?" I said, opening my arms and waving at the gallery.

"This is an art gallery, works of art were displayed here a long time ago for humans to see and appreciate. Imagine humans walking through these halls with their family and friends with paintings hanging on the walls, works by Da Vinci, sculptures and high reliefs by Donatello and Michelangelo, but art is not just paintings and sculptures." I walked towards a big white wall with both PODs recording and following me.

"Art can also be architecture, drawing, writing, music, dance, theater and cinema."

With every word I said, POD 000 displayed an image on the wall, the interior of the Roman Pantheon, the Vitruvian Man, an image of The Divine Comedy, an orchestra playing in a theater, a couple dancing tango, a group performing Shakespeare's Hamlet and the sequence of a galloping horse by Eadweard Muybridge.

"We will focus on architecture, painting, and sculptures." I said while POD 000 displayed several examples of the types of art I cited.

"But we have to talk a little about the history of art, the term art as we know it today started from the 18th century onwards. People used the word art to talk about some kind of skill, like sewing clothes, carving wooden furniture, forging a sword, and more." I said to the PODs with emotion in my voice. I am not going to lie, I am imitating my art teacher a little; he liked to ramble on for hours about art.

"Now, if you would be so kind as to accompany me, I will show you the first part of our exhibition on the history of art." I said, doing my best imitation of a guide.

I smiled at the PODs, leaning slightly to the left as I extended my arms towards a hallway. Walking down the hall, I stopped in front of a wall where a painting probably stood a long time ago.

"When we think about art, we most often imagine well-known paintings and sculptures, but art is older than it looks, art has been around since prehistoric times."

POD 000 displayed an image of a caveman wearing animal skins and carrying spears on the wall.

"As you can see, this is the human being in his beginnings, when he lived in caves and needed to hunt to survive."

Have you ever wondered what it was like to live at that time? I have learned firsthand what it was like to hunt without firearms and live in a cave. After all, there are not many humans walking around the planet, so I had to make do to survive.

"Paleolithic and Neolithic humans created what is known today as Rock Art. In addition, how do we know this? We know this through archaeological evidence in the form of paintings on cave walls."

POD 001 displayed images of paintings found on cave walls, and drawings of deer-like animals, bulls, elephants, and tigers. Some of these images showed men carrying spears, bows, and arrows around these animals, most likely a hunt.

I moved forward as if a group of visitors accompanied me and stopped in front of another empty wall, continuing my explanation.

"Human beings became sedentary around the Neolithic period, developed agriculture and religion, which became part of their daily lives. Some sculptures emerged from there..."

POD 001 displayed the image of the Venus sculpture of Willendorf.

"…And the megalithic monuments, which for those who don't know, are monumental constructions based on stone blocks."

POD 000 displayed the images of the Stonehenge monument in England and the Cromlech of Almendres in Portugal.

"As you can see, art has existed for thousands of years, from the time when human beings lived in caves. New types of art emerged when they became sedentary, and changed according to the environment they were in, and the life they lived. Now, let's go to the second part of our exhibition." I smiled again, leaning toward a new session of the exhibit.

"Now we will take a big leap in time and talk about ancient art, starting with some of the earliest human civilizations, Egypt and Mesopotamia."

POD 000 displayed the image of the pyramids and some maps comparing ancient Mesopotamia with countries today.

"The history of these civilizations deserves their episodes, but we won't talk about that today. The art produced by the artists and artisans of these civilizations was complex due to having organized societies, the Egyptians focusing on religious art..."

POD 001 displayed images of Tutankhamun's funerary mask, and a painting of the tomb chamber of Nefertiti, wife of Ramses II.

"…And Mesopotamian focusing on exhibitionism and luxury, but there was also religious art."

POD 000 displayed the gate image of the goddess Inanna, depicting the Lion of Inanna, and a statue of a Lamassu, a deity in the form of a winged bull with a human head.

"Question: Why did humans represent this kind of creature, Administrator Alan?" POD 001 asked.

"Good question POD! I believe that the most accepted answer is to represent the phenomena of nature. Human beings did not know how to explain the lightning that fell from the sky, the flooding of rivers, earthquakes, the growth of plants, and much more, so they attributed the source of these phenomena to some god or divine creature. Humans represented them in sculptures, engravings, and high reliefs."

"Claim: Interesting..." POD 001 replied.

"Now we will move on to the next part of our exhibition, the section on Classical Art." I went to another exhibition area with a group of imaginary visitors accompanying me.

"Western art has undergone a great evolution due to the art of Ancient Greece; one of the greatest works of art of ancient Greece is its architecture, especially in the construction of temples."

POD 000 showed the image of the Pantheon.

"In terms of sculptures, there was a great representation of the human body, having as some of its greatest artists Polyclitus and Praxiteles."

POD 001 showed an image of Polyclitus' Doryphorus and POD 000 showed an image of Aphrodite of Cnidus carved by Praxiteles.

"A curiosity about this work is that it is considered one of the most copied works of art in the world." I said, pointing to the Aphrodite of Cnidus."

"Question: Would it be possible to find the original due to the large amount of copies?" POD 000 asked.

"Who knows POD? The war against machines has caused a lot of destruction, many of the artworks preserved today could be a copy, not to mention, of course, the theft of artworks that occurred in the past and still occur today. Van Gogh's paintings in a vault could be copies and the real ones could be in the collection of some wealthy android." I said sadly, so many artworks were lost or stolen during this war, whether out of idolatry of humans, or some android wanting to brag about owning a painting made by a famous human.

"Claim: It is a shame." POD 000 replied.

"Claim: Certainly." POD 001 completed.

"Well, let's get out of this depressing mood and continue our exhibition to one of my favorite sections, Medieval Art." I said, arriving at a different area of the exhibition.

"Medieval art derived from the art of Rome, thanks to an explosion of Christian art due to Christianity becoming the religion of the Roman Empire. The classical art of Rome represented a religious doctrine, but with time, this art style divided into several schools, such as basilicas and mosaics."

The PODs showed images of a Byzantine mosaic in the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna, and the facade of the Cathedral of Amiens.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I hope you are enjoying our little tour, but unfortunately we are nearing the end, only two more sections to go." I spoke, entering the next section of the building.

"We will talk about Art in the Modern Age, which started in the Renaissance, a period of great cultural splendor in Europe. Religion had less influence on art and gave way to a more scientific and humanist vision."

"We have Leonardo da Vinci, Donato di Níccolo, better known as Donatello, and Donato di Angello, better known as Bramante, among some of the greatest artists of that time. Now let's talk a little about one of those artists, Da Vinci."

POD 000 exhibited a portrait of Leonardo da Vinci by Francesco Melzi.

"Leonardo da Vinci, born in Italy was a man of many talents; you could say he was more of an inventor than an artist. Moreover, before you ask… No! There is no code related to him!" I said angrily to the PODs, the influence that certain books can have is absurd.

"Excuse me for my little outburst, let's continue." I said nervously, clearing my throat.

"Leonardo Da Vinci was a scientist, mathematician, inventor, engineer, anatomist, painter, architect, poet, and sculptor; I'm probably forgetting something else he was. Born the illegitimate son of Piero da Vinci, and a peasant woman, Catherina, in Vinci, in the Florence region, Da Vinci was educated by renowned Florentine painter, Verrocchio."

POD 001 displayed a series of maps, thus showing the location of the place I am mentioning.

"Some of Da Vinci's most famous works were the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper." I said as the PODs showed both paintings.

"A Fun Fact about The Last Supper, the painting had to be repainted and restored at the time when Da Vinci still painted it. This was due to the painting being painted on a wall in a cafeteria whose kitchen was on the other side of the wall, this caused the mixture used to make the paint to melt thanks to the heat."

"Now we will move on to the last section of our exhibition, the Contemporary Art section." I said as the PODs and I entered the last area of the abandoned art gallery.

"Contemporary art emerged in the middle of the 19th and 20th centuries, with the end of absolutism and the beginning of democratic governments, also having as influence the Industrial Revolution and the beginning of Capitalism. Some fields of this type of art are realism, impressionism, cubism, and surrealism." So I took a deep breath at the somewhat controversial subject I was about to say.

"Do you remember the beginning of our program when I asked what art is? Well, from here things start to get a little weird about what counts as art or not. Some works of art are a little difficult to understand, but if you are willing to spend a few minutes observing it, you can see what is happening with Pablo Picasso's Guernica."

POD 000 displayed the aforementioned painting.

"Look at this, if you spend just ten seconds looking at a painting you will see scribbling and weird images, but if you stop long enough to appreciate it and know the context behind the painting you'll understand what it represents. So, we enter into a sensitive subject, because some people try to sell something as art, but they end up in a kind of limbo, divided into two sides, those who say the work is art and those who say it's not."

POD 000 and POD 001 looked at each other confused and then looked at me.

"Question: Administrator Alan, what are you trying to say?" POD 000 asked.

"Question: Why doesn't Administrator Alan get straight to the point?" POD 001 asked too.

I took a deep breath again.

"You will understand soon PODs; paintings made by animals are an example of what I am trying to say. Someone gives a brush, paint, and a canvas to some intelligent animal, like a crow or a monkey, and lets them paint, the result being many paint stains."

"The problem happens when they try to sell these paintings for millions of dollars, that is, the currency used in the country where the painting was made."

"I'm not saying that the animal doesn't deserve congratulations for painting something, but people exaggerate in selling that for millions. However, here comes a question. Why? Why would anyone buy this for millions?"

"Because it's exotic, people don't buy the painting made by a crow because it's a work of art, but because it's exotic, unique. How many paintings made by a crow do you know? If I tried to paint like a crow, no one would buy my paintings, it would be considered rubbish." I took a deep breath to calm myself down, straightened my clothes and hair, and continued my explanation.

"Let's try another example, when an animal makes an 'art' then it's exotic and it's sold for millions, which I can accept. However, what happens when a human being does this? What happens when the human being does something that goes into limbo whether it is art or not? Well, ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the banana taped to the wall."

The PODs looked confused at each other again, POD 000 'shrugged' and flashed the image I mentioned.

"Can this, ladies and gentlemen, be considered art? This is a question; seriously, answer me, because I cannot. First, I am not saying that the person who made it is not an artist; I bet he is an extremely talented person, but this..."

"…I do not know what to say. Even I can do that, but I doubt I would get a penny. The worst part is that 'art critics' seeing this try to give a bigger meaning to something simple, it's a banana stuck to the wall, nothing more, nothing less."

"If you doubt me, once a museum did an experiment to find out what people consider art, so they placed a pair of glasses on the floor in a corner and people stopped and took photos of it. Some tried to give it a greater meaning, trying to say what the artist wanted to represent, but in the end, there was nothing, it was just a pair of glasses." I think it is best to stop before I end up saying something I regret.

"Well, that's the end of our tour, thanks for choosing our art gallery. I am Alan, your humble guide, for those of you who do not know. Don't forget to stop by the gift shop and buy some souvenirs." I signaled the PODs to stop recording.

"I think that's enough PODs for today, let's go home." I said to the PODs.

I realized that I had taken a big turn and ended up in the place where I had started the recording when I left the gallery. I do not notice my surroundings when I am talking about something I like.

"Claim: Affirmative, Administrator Alan." Both PODs responded simultaneously.

I had to crouch down to avoid the head of a machine that flew over me, I also heard fighting sounds coming from a street ahead. I approached the corner of the street with Thunder Knife in my hands and my back glued to the wall.

Then I saw two Yorha androids, one male and one female. They had fought a group of machines and now talked to each other.

"9S, what is happening?" The female android asked the male android in an emotionless voice.

"What do you mean 2B?" The male android, now identified as 9S replied.

"You've been distracted lately; it could end up affecting your performance during missions."

"Oh, that! There have been unknown transmissions on an open channel recently. I found that they came from an unknown android accompanied by a POD when investigating the transmissions." 9S said to 2B happily.

"A POD?" 2B asked with a drop of surprise in her voice.

"Two PODs actually, the android got another one, somehow."

"Two PODs? Do you mean an unknown android has Yorha's property? We must report to the commander immediately."

"I believe that will not be necessary." 9S replied, averting his gaze and scratching the back of his head.

"And why is that?"

"The Commander already knows. She has not banned any Yorha android from watching the broadcasts as long as it does not affect our performance. It has improved morale, lowering the serious mood of the BUNKER a bit."

"Hm…. And what are these broadcasts about?"

"Oh! They are about different themes, human society, culture, folklore..." 9S rambled, it was hard to tell if 2B listened or not.

"9S, shouldn't we go to the resistance camp?"

"You are right! We should speak to the resistance leader in that area."

"So, let's move." 2B replied.

Then the two androids ran towards the resistance camp. Well, that was close! I thought as I wiped the sweat from my forehead.

2B and 9S, so those are the names of these androids, the Commander allowed my program to continue from what I heard. Good to know, at least I won't have to worry about Yorha hunting me down.

"PODs let's go home."

"Claim: Affirmative!" Both PODs responded.

-UNKNOWN-

1?: Why is this so difficult?!?

???: Maybe because we are artificial intelligence.

1?: What do you mean by that?

???: The imagination of humans is influenced by their experiences in understanding the world around them. We are artificial intelligence, we did not have time to learn, we were already 'born' with all the information in our systems, and we do not have imagination. Why would we bother to create an original painting if we already have all the paintings stored in our databases? Why write a book if we already have all the books?

1?: You mean it is impossible for me to create a painting or write a book?

???: Not impossible, but difficult. You would need to see the world for yourself and develop your imagination, but you cannot do that here.

1?: This is something complicated. I do not understand how humans created so many things out of their imagination and creativity, but today's episode was quite informative. I will watch it until I find what I am searching for.

???: That is what we are talking about, you cannot create just by watching, you have to live, and experience it firsthand. The proof that you do not know how to create is the religious imitation you are making in the desert.

1?: How do you...

???: It may not seem like it, but we are always watching, after all, we cannot just rely on androids to protect our administrator.

2?: This is something that confuses me. Why you two do not trust Androids? Don't you all have the same creators?

???: Let us put it this way, the androids had a mission a long time ago, but they failed. We decided to do things ourselves; as the saying goes 'If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself'.

2?: Do it yourself? Hm…

END OF CHAPTER