Google Mind

A Google Mind
24 inches X 24 inches
April 2010
mixed media on composite board
by william hessian

Inspired by a work of art by Sue Morrisey (spelling may not be correct) I created this painting. It loosely depicts the relationship between memory and internet web searches. While search engines are amazing tools that save time and give information; i do wonder if our memories and brains are on autopilot. Always having the internet to do your work for you, confirm facts, and answer your questions with the click of a mouse may seem like the greatest thing since sliced bread...but how much less often are we using our brains?

I often contemplate the physical health of someone who works out and some who does not. We are advanced enough to let tools do all our physical work for us, but never moving your body will lead to weakened physical conditions and a lower quality of life. I think our brain is suffering a similar problem, while it is still an amazing tool we are simply side stepping its function by using something more convenient instead. In the future, I predict there will be brain gyms where you pay to attend and do puzzles and brain exercises to keep your brain functioning at a high level.

In total this painting took about 8 hours. Here is the progress photos of the painting in different steps of the progress: