Art exhibit shines light on women’s role in technologies that power modern life

Key Concepts

• Techne: An ancient Greek term representing the shared root of both art and technology, emphasizing that they are not separate disciplines but born from the same human impulse.
• Human Computers: Women who performed complex computational work manually before the advent of electronic physical computers.
• Digital Art: The integration of traditional artistic practices (sculpture, weaving) with digital tools (3D scanning, 3D printing, computer-aided design).
• Silicon Valley History: The transition of the region from "The Valley of Heart's Delight" (agricultural orchards) to a global hub of high-tech innovation.

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1. Bridging the Art-Technology Divide

The San Jose Museum of Art, led by Executive Director Jeremiah Wilson Davis, is actively working to dismantle the fallacy that art and technology are divorced. The museum’s "Motherboards" exhibition serves as a focal point for this mission, highlighting the historical and ongoing contributions of women to the computing industry. The exhibition posits that the "nervous system" of modern technology is deeply intertwined with the labor—both intellectual and physical—of women throughout history.

2. Featured Artists and Methodologies

• Rhonda Holburton: An assistant professor of digital arts at San Jose State University, Holburton uses her work to connect agricultural history with digital innovation.
  • Methodology: She utilizes 3D scanning of physical objects (such as plum branches from local orchards) and translates them into digital models. These are then 3D printed using bioplastics and resins.
  • Case Study: Her piece Collateral Influences maps Ada Lovelace’s "Note G" algorithm—the first computer algorithm—onto a 3D-printed plum branch, converting the code into binary and then into black-and-white pixels.
• Sarah Buckius: A mechanical engineer and fine artist who explores the history of "human computers."
  • Methodology: She creates digital audiovisual collages by layering early technology drawings and patents filed by women.
  • Case Study: Her work Kitchen Computer Plushy critiques the 1969 Honeywell kitchen computer advertisement. By adding pink fur to a physical representation of the computer, she uses humor to address the gendered history of technology, specifically the sexist tagline: "If she can only cook as well as Honeywell computes."

3. The Intersection of Traditional Craft and Computing

The exhibition Woven Pixel, curated by Sarah Mills at the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles, highlights the technical parallels between weaving and computing.

• Navajo Weaving: The exhibition features a traditional Navajo weaving of a Pentium microchip. This piece honors the Navajo women who worked at Intel’s chip fabrication facilities in Arizona and New Mexico, bridging the gap between ancestral craft skills and modern semiconductor manufacturing.
• Technical Process: Modern weaving has come "full circle," where artists use computerized looms to execute complex patterns. This allows for a fluid transition between digital design and physical, tactile output.

4. Key Arguments and Perspectives

• The Fallacy of Separation: Jeremiah Wilson Davis argues that art and technology share a common origin in techne. He suggests that the perceived gap between these fields is an artificial construct.
• Historical Recognition: The exhibition serves as a corrective to the historical record, which has often minimized the role of women. By showcasing patents filed by women and the work of "human computers," the artists argue that women are the "mother of the computer industry."
• Humor as a Tool: Sarah Buckius emphasizes that humor is a vital artistic strategy for making complex, often exclusionary, historical and technological narratives more accessible to the public.

5. Notable Quotes

• Jeremiah Wilson Davis: "The idea that art and technology are divorced, I think is a fallacy. Art and technology have been present since the very beginning... they're born from the same human impulse."
• Sarah Buckius: "Human computers who were women who did a lot of computational work before the actual physical computer... their work is sort of like the mother of the computer industry."

6. Synthesis and Conclusion

The "Motherboards" and "Woven Pixel" exhibitions demonstrate that Silicon Valley’s identity is not solely defined by hardware and software, but by a long-standing, often overlooked history of human labor and creative ingenuity. By integrating 3D printing, digital collage, and traditional weaving, these artists prove that the "tech" sector is deeply rooted in the same creative impulses that drive the arts. The movement toward interdisciplinary education—exemplified by San Jose State University’s digital arts program—suggests a future where the collaboration between these two fields will continue to define the evolution of modern life.