Marc Bohlen

        The artist that I choose is Marc Bohlen. Bohlen is an
artist/engineer who works for the REALTECHSUPPORT company. Using
REALTECHSUPPORT, Marc was able to build and design information processing
systems, which reflect cultural value. He describes his work as, “the
relationship between people and machinery in a fundamental way.” This
description explains that his work is meant to interact with people and form a
bond as the user and the machine. His work, which began in crafts and art
history, ended up in the engineering and sciences field. Recently, Bohlen used
engineering methods to focus on computational media and to construct a system
for the filtration of water. While working on these projects, Bohlen plans to
diversify the machine culture and create works that fit into both the art and
the engineering community. Some of Bohlen’s most interesting projects include
the Glass Bottom Float, the WaterBar, and the Dinner Table. The Glass Bottom
Float (GBF) is a robot with the mission to test recreational water quality.
This device can be used at an freshwater location to scan the water for
bacteria,  wave motion, and overall water
quality. The WaterBar acts as a public well, which adds necessary elements like
iron, magnesium, or calcium into fresh drinkable water. The last artwork is the
DinnerTable, which listens to the conversation at the table and transforms
those conversations into an interactive surface with games. All of Bohlen’s
creation heavily rely on engineering, but also contain an aspect of art.
Designs like the Glass Bottom Float serve a purpose, but can also be looked at
as art. The construction of the device and the way it functions is art in
itself.