“Sometimes it is vital to get out and work with humans.”

Posted 12th Apr 11 by Tom in News

We spoke to Paul Granjon, visual artist and performer extraordinaire, who will be heading up Man/Machine – our night exploring robotics and automation through music, spoken word and robotics on 19th April.

What started your love of robotics?

I was the standard mechanically oriented child, taking things apart, playing a lot with Lego and Meccano, customising bicycles. Interest in robotics is simply a grown-up continuation of this area of interest.

You created a work to allow people to see and hear how a robot would. How did you find out? Did you ask a particular robot friend?

The Robotic Perception Kit in question is an approximation of a simple robot’s sensory system. I could not ask any question to the robot the kit is inspired from because it does not speak, or have any grasp of human language. But I wrote its programme, so I had precious insider knowledge.

You have a robotic sidekick called mofo. Since his creation, how has he evolved from simple robo-model to fully functioning robotic helper? And why ‘mofo’?

Erm, to tell you the truth, since its conception, Mofo has mostly devolved; one could say it has aged quite badly. The wear and tear from all the disco dancing, a couple of nasty falls and the rude luggage handling of long haul flights have taken their toll: Mofo cannot dance anymore, just about wobbly walk. It mostly likes to sit and play keyboard, or sleep in its case. The name Mofo does not stand for Molti Fonction.

You use the term co-evolution in terms of man and machine. How far do you see this going? At what point do you think we’ll be living side by side with our cybernetic brethren?

I think that the co-evolution of human and machine will go as far as the environment tolerates, and as individuals can spend cash. The drive is for overcoming the flesh and live forever. This is not for me, but I enjoy thinking about it and reminding people about the built-in possibilities of their body and mind, while having an interesting time getting hands-on with contemporary technological kit.

In a slightly different vein, you created a piece, with the Dynion Male Dance Company, called Sail Bridge Music Action (a fantastic piece of industrial musical scoring). How do you see this side of your work and the more robotic elements fitting together. How much do they inform each other?

The Sail Bridge piece stemmed from a strong budget limitation: the original project was to create a set of mechatronic devices that could play the bridge as a giant percussive harp. When I had to re-think the options, I decided to work with dancers. Once fitted with appropriate extensions such as mallets and a program (choreography), they were able to bring to life the sound quality of the bridge in a very effective manner. As much as I enjoy building and programming machines, sometimes it is vital to get out and work with humans.

Paul Granjon joins FOUND, Ross Sutherland, Nikesh Shukla & Tamarin Norwood at Man/Machine, 19th April. Tickets from Richmix.