The Triumph of Bacchus and Ariadne depicts the god of wine gaining the love of an abandoned princess. The procession recalls the triumphs of the Imperial Roman era, where victorious leaders headed parades in a white chariot lead by white horses. The program refers to ‘an exaltation of Orazio’s carpe diem’. This is a characteristic theme of the fifteenth century, or the exhortations of joys of youth (beauty, love, senses) in the awareness of their fleetingness. The painting itself is a polyhedral figure supporting the literary production in themes of Medici. This raises the question of what the future of humanity will be. When thinking of a communist era - the equality of humans, an abundance of resources, and staggering technological advancements - one images a utopia. All disease will have cures, humanity will transcend mortality, and individuals will live freely, able to do whatever they wish. However, this image of great culture, deeply imbued with humanistic ideals, is far from the reality. Humans are selfish and inevitably abuse the world around them. Once we begin to replace body parts with robotic ones; once we begin to replace the world around us with robotic parts, what remains? Theseus’ paradox asks whether a ship retains its identity once all its parts are replaced - and likewise I ask, what is left of humanity once we have replaced everything? Nothing. A Utopia is nothing more than a dystopia covered by the imaginations of the ignorant. There is no life. Robots do not hold on to life. They cannot. They have nothing to hold on with - no soul, no instinct.
