Concepts, Notations, Software, Art

One of the very first concepts addressed in this reading was the idea of this constant struggle between the digital or computer artist and the computer programmer that makes the digital art a reality. As a more art minded person I understand the frustration of dealing with programming and the limits it places on my artistic endeavors. The code created for programs to operate is trapped within the rules and limits of notation created specifically for the programing language while art on the other hand can be just about any kind of imaginative creative process. The irony of this new media or digital art is that the programming used to free our creativity in the digital arts is also somewhat trapped by the rules of programming.

Now the idea of the program coding itself being a work of art is something intriguing to me and this article really does a good job of enlightening me on that very possibility. I had never dwelled on that idea too long in the past when thinking about the association of computer programs and art mainly due to my lack of interest and knowledge of programming. The comparison to a Dada poem that uses random variations of another sound poem is a very good example of how the creation of random structured code using one's imagination and a certain set of rules that dictate the overall design of the program. Of course one could go on to argue for or against Dadaism being a true art form as well. The author then goes on to recreate a random chance poem using a modern computer programming language to demonstrate the similarities as well as to show how some programs actually look behind the scenes. The author believes that you need to pay attention to how and by whom the programs were written. I think a general understanding of why a program does certain things is a good thing to know but I disagree that knowing HOW or by WHOM a piece of software was written is very important. Most artists' brains are not equipped to cipher such language and generally deal with a more robust visual palette when viewing the world.

This concept of software and how it relates to art may seem like something that has been around for only a decade or two at the most but in reality the concept was addressed even as early as 1970. I always like hearing about the beginnings and history of technologies and new media art due to it always blowing my mind how long certain concepts we think of as neomodern have been around. Anyways, a man named Jack Bumham curated an exhibition in that grand year of 1970 entitled "Software". "Software" featured installations of computer software like the precursor to HTML and the Internet. The argument being that formal language is a language so why can't software language be seen and read as literature. Basically it was a concept that materialized due to its creator, just like any other piece of art is formed.