{\rtf1\mac\ansicpg10000\cocoartf102 {\fonttbl\f0\fnil\fcharset77 Verdana;} {\colortbl;\red255\green255\blue255;} \margl1440\margr1440\vieww9000\viewh9000\viewkind0 \deftab720 \pard\pardeftab720\ql\qnatural \f0\fs24 \cf0 We want to make the intangible magic of technology visible and connect it with the prophecies of transcendence and apocalypse as presented by religions throughout history. On the one hand, through technology, humanity faces total destruction and on the other, eternal peace. Our society takes the fantastic power of technology for granted. The benefits of incredibly specialized knowledge are accepted and utilized without the reverence afforded to the mystic knowledge of ancient times. It is our job as artists to make people aware that the cell phone in their hands is an achievement that rests on the mystic science of the alchemists. What we once placed in the realm of the sacred is now, in reality, totally accessible, thanks to an increasingly coherent understanding of the natural laws of the universe.\ \ Technology began with primitive fire tools, lead to the printing press, proceeded towards the invention of home computers, and will finally culminate in a transcendent moment as we create a greater-than-human intelligence. Many philosophers and scientists from Ray Kurzweil to Pierre Teilhard de Chardin have theorized that once this greater intelligence is born, it will inevitably reorganize all matter in the universe into an intelligent machine, capable of simulating further universes.\ \ This organizing force, known as Logos, is a paradoxical side effect of Entropy, but not its opposite. While energy is spent, matter is simultaneously organized into more efficient and dense forms. \ \ One grand narrative of history has been described by Buckminster Fuller as a process of ephemeralization \'d1 doing more with less. The dematerialization of the art object was a logical response to this development and needs to be considered when making new sculptures. However, computers \'d1 the epitome of this process, exponentially shrinking \'d1 \'castill require real matter, still take up real space and use real energy. There is a necessity for objects, but they must exist in a balance between the ephemeral and the material, the conceptual and the formal. We must acknowledge the notion of efficiency, while still accepting decoration and customization as one of the most essential human endeavors. \ \ To this end we propose a hybrid form, Active Sculpture\'d1 like a primitive 21st century Golem, material objects with souls. Joseph Beuys once asked if sculpture can change the world. Our answer is a resounding "YES", as long as that sculpture has a kick-ass-state-of-the-art graphics card rendering a beautiful fantasy world or simulating a cure for cancer, or something as humble as hosting an archive of midi ringtones.}