TELE- ______

With society's obsession with and mass access to technology and communicative devices, creatives around the world are finding innovative ways to utilize technology in order to present new ideas.

One of my favorite examples is Ken Goldberg's Telegarden, as seen in Art & Electronic Media.

This installation had two components: the first being a physical garden with a robotic arm which was placed in the Arts Electronica Center in Linz, Austria. The second component was a Telgarden website, where users could register and have the chance to care for plants remotely via the web.

The installation all sounds fun and whimsical until a person begins to consider questions regarding the web, it's power on society, and knowledge through mediated sources. 

So, does the garden even exist? How do we trust what we see online and that it's authentic?

The impact of this piece is bold and slightly disturbing, illustrating the strength of art merged with technology. 

With that, it is hard not to think about the many ways to impliment this type of art. Maybe...
...Tele-tourism

...Tele-hiking

...Tele-museums

On the other hand, some of these may surpass art and become a regular practice in the future.

To see more of Telegarden, visit the Art & Electronic Media companion site.