The Ashby box as situated object within context
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2025-03-15
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Abstract
Open peer commentary on the article “Design of a Contemporary Elementary Non-Trivial Machine” by Thomas Fischer & Hengjie Li. Abstract: We explore the implications of the design of the hand-held Elementary Non-Trivial Machine, a contemporary reconstruction of the Ashby Box by Thomas Fischer and Hengjie Li. Situating it in conjunction with earlier speculative efforts by Fischer in collaboration with Andrei Cretu, we consider the evolution of early cybernetic concepts and artifacts and their continuation in contemporary socio-techno landscapes. Applying the dynamic framework of Gilbert Simondon’s philosophy on the evolution of the technical object, an emphasis is placed on the interplay between machines and their associated milieu as well as the role of material and human intentionality in the development of knowledge-bearing artifacts.
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Scholars@Duke
Vivian Xu
Vivian Xu is an interdisciplinary artist and researcher. Her work investigates issues at the intersection of biology, material ecology, technology, and cybernetics. Her creative practice is research-driven, process-based, and informed by practices between the arts and sciences that merge methods from the studio and the laboratory.
Xu’s work has been exhibited and presented at various institutions in Asia, the United States, and Europe, including the National Art Museum of China (China), the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra (China), Power Station of Art (China), Three Shadows Photography Art Center (China), Fotograpfiska (China), NTU Center for Contemporary Art (Singapore), the New York Science Museum (United States), Kapelica Gallery (Slovenia), and the Museum of Decorative Arts Dresden (Germany), amongst others. She has been awarded research residencies at institutions such as SymbioticA (Australia) and the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science (Germany). Her work has also been featured in books such as Climates. Habitats. Environments and The Annual of Contemporary Art of China: 2021 Edition. Her practice has been covered by media including Global China Television (China), Elle magazine (United States), Tagesspiegel (Germany), Neural Magazine (Italy), and CLOT Magazine (Europe). In 2022, her piece The Silkworm Project was selected for the Lumen Prize for Art and Technology Hua Awards Shortlist hosted by the Serpentine Gallery (UK).
Xu received her Master of Fine Art in Design and Technology at Parsons School of Design, The New School. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Media and Art at Duke Kunshan University in China. Along with Benjamin Bacon, she co-directs the Design, Technology, and Radical Media Lab (DTRM), and co-leads the Art, Media, and Cybernetics Working Group under the American Society of Cybernetics.
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