[HN Gopher] Bjork on nature and technology (2016)
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       Bjork on nature and technology (2016)
        
       Author : atsy
       Score  : 78 points
       Date   : 2025-09-22 19:58 UTC (2 days ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (thecreativeindependent.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (thecreativeindependent.com)
        
       | labrador wrote:
       | Bjork and Laurie Anderson are my two favorite artists who have a
       | feel of both nature and technology in harmony, but there's an
       | artist who preceeds both that captures the feeling best for me:
       | Richard Brautigan in the 60's                   All Watched Over
       | By Machines Of Loving Grace              I like to think (and
       | the sooner the better!)         of a cybernetic meadow
       | where mammals and computers         live together in mutually
       | programming harmony         like pure water         touching
       | clear sky.              I like to think         (right now,
       | please!)         of a cybernetic forest         filled with pines
       | and electronics         where deer stroll peacefully         past
       | computers         as if they were flowers         with spinning
       | blossoms.              I like to think         (it has to be!)
       | of a cybernetic ecology         where we are free of our labors
       | and joined back to nature,         returned to our mammal
       | brothers and sisters,         and all watched over         by
       | machines of loving grace.              https://allpoetry.com/All-
       | Watched-Over-By-Machines-Of-Loving-Grace
        
         | Rygian wrote:
         | Could the title be perhaps the inspiration for the "Self Models
         | of Loving Grace" presentation by Joscha Bach in last year's
         | CCC?
         | 
         | https://media.ccc.de/v/38c3-self-models-of-loving-grace
        
           | labrador wrote:
           | Good find. That's really interesting. I would guess the
           | titles are related.
           | 
           | I want to also mention that with "Bachlorette" Bjork seems to
           | anticipate Large Language Models and wrote a cautionary tale
           | about them:
           | 
           | "One day I found a big book buried deep in the ground. I
           | opened it, but all the pages were blank. Then, to my
           | surprise, it started writing itself: 'One day, I found a big
           | book buried deep in the ground...'"
           | 
           | bjork : bachelorette https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNJv-
           | Ebi67I
        
             | entropie wrote:
             | > bjork : bachelorette
             | 
             | I love this song since my teens and never dig into the
             | meaning of it. Its a musical masterpiece even without
             | understanding the text (which I didnt)
        
         | ics wrote:
         | I was introduced to Richard Brautigan by a chance encounter
         | with The Tokyo-Montana Express from the used book shelf, highly
         | recommend it as well.
        
       | lupusreal wrote:
       | Love Bjork. She always has very refreshing takes.
        
         | ge96 wrote:
         | Aurora Aksnes interesting too
        
       | ascorbic wrote:
       | Ah, an excuse to share Bjork's legendary video about how TVs
       | work! You shouldn't let poets lie to you.
       | 
       | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75WFTHpOw8Y
        
         | realo wrote:
         | "... Millions of little screens that send light on you..."
         | 
         | How poetic!
        
         | pier25 wrote:
         | for a moment it seems like she's talking about TikTok
        
       | proee wrote:
       | Bjork talking about her torn-apart CRT TV is one of my favorite
       | videos.
       | 
       | https://youtu.be/75WFTHpOw8Y?si=FnWcYEtpdhsziJ11
        
         | thr0waway001 wrote:
         | The whole time I was thinking: 'don't touch Mr. Capacitor.'
        
       | psadri wrote:
       | Nature _is_ technology. It's far too advanced for us to
       | understand. And perhaps due to not-invented-here syndrome, we
       | tend to try and recreate it (crudely).
        
         | pier25 wrote:
         | We're part of nature too. Is the technology we produce also
         | part of nature?
        
           | TeMPOraL wrote:
           | It is, but it's a somewhat different point. Or perhaps the
           | same one, taken from the other end.
           | 
           | I tend to phrase GP's point as: life is nothing but molecular
           | nanotech that we didn't design ourselves, and don't fully
           | understand _yet_.
        
       | dfxm12 wrote:
       | The mentioned Stonemilker video was one of the few things to
       | really grab my attention with the Google Daydream VR when it got
       | for free with whatever Pixel it was that came with it.
       | 
       | At the time, she said of the 360 VR technology that it was a
       | challenge and "it's still being discovered, but people don't know
       | what it is."
       | 
       | Daydream VR would be discontinued 4 years later...
       | 
       | https://youtu.be/gQEyezu7G20?si=Tu7DirCjq8psKI8x
        
         | Ambroos wrote:
         | This might be a good time to remind you that her Vulnicura VR
         | album (that the video you linked to is from) has just been
         | remastered and rereleased. Available on Quest 3
         | (https://www.meta.com/en-gb/experiences/9760145800676411/) and
         | Vision Pro (https://apps.apple.com/us/app/bj%C3%B6rk-vulnicura-
         | vr-remast...). It's one of my favourite ever albums and I
         | really need to find a friend with a Quest 3/Vision Pro, I have
         | never gotten to experience the VR videos.
        
           | mastercheif wrote:
           | Vulnicura VR is incredible. It's a truly moving experience
           | that wouldn't work in any other medium.
        
       | thr0waway001 wrote:
       | Kristen Wiig does a killer Bjork impression.
        
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