Preface
Since the 1990s when digital technology
became a part of everyday life, digital media have gradually been
taken seriously by artists. Artists employ technology as tools
and media to explore visual aesthetic experiences and new perceptions
or use technology as a means to criticize technology itself and
discuss its impact on and problems for human life, experience
and existence. From Ars Electornica, Linz, ACM Multimedia Interactive
Art Program, International Symposium of Electronic Arts (ISEA),
and other important international activities, it can be observed
that the world pays much attention to digital art. These activities
have brought together scholars, artists and art critics from all
over the world. Also, exhibitions, researches and publications
have been forthcoming. Since the end of the twentieth century,
the position of digital art in the history of art has been gradually
established.
For a long time, digital art's position
in art history has been ambiguous. In reading contemporary books
about art history and books, magazines' articles and exhibitions'
catalogues which introduce various art schools, I find that art
critics and historians rarely mention or discuss digital art works.
For example, Lucy Lippard wrote a book, Six Years: The Dematerialization
of the Art Object from 1966 to 1972, which regarded Roy Ascott
as a conceptual artist. Robert Rauschenberg's creative "Combine
Painting" made him a famous Pop Art figure in the 1960s.
However, the "9 Evenings: Theatre and Engineering" that
he and Billy Klüver produced has hardly been discussed in
fine art history. Even Edward Lucie-Smith, in one chapter, "kinetic
art," of a 1977 book ART NOW misunderstood the exhibition
of "9 Evenings: Theatre and Engineering" as "Evenings
in Art and Technology"(Lucie-Smith, 1977). The reason is
that art critics leading art history can neither understand such
kind of art form nor accept it as they don't have theories to
inform any comment or analysis. Being thus unable to offer suitable
comments can be understandable (Bijvoet , 1997).
Contemporary digital art has such
a kind of awkward situation. In analyzing digital art using modern
art theory, a focus on visual symbols, story narratives and colour
structure is often employed. The characteristics of digital technology
are brilliant visual expression and interactive participation.
Although digital artists desire to grasp important work expressions,
these brilliant visual images and interface interactive techniques
lead people to ignore the importance of "program" in
the creation of digital art. Not only is "program" a
kind of computer's technology language, but also it constructs
a logical program and carries out computing process through the
software language's instruction and description. An important
element of digital computer technology actually has digital art
features of aesthetic concepts and behavioral structure.
"Program" of Computer
Art
According to records, the first
computer art exhibition took place in February, 1965, in Studiengalerie
der Technischen Hochschule Stuttgart, Germany. Georg Nees had
conceived of, programmed and realized the works. (Nake, 2005).
In May of the same year, Frieder Nake and Georg Nees held another
computer art exhibition in the same place. In April of the same
year, in New York, the Howard Wise Gallery organized A. Michael
Noll's and Bela Julesz's computer-generated image work exhibition
– which became America's first computer art exhibition (Noll
, 1994). Their works were made using random demands, random numbers
and random order as well as the computing process to create simple
images and structures. From a visual aspect, their works seemed
like those of constructivism. This similarity is one of reasons
why computer art has been criticized and art critics hardly accept
this art.
However, computer art's visual images
are not the main focus of aesthetic meaning. The generative nature
created through random processes of the program is crucial. This
is "generative aesthetics" that Max Bense emphasizes
is also the most important aesthetic contribution in the creation
of computer-generated images in this period. For example, Frieder
Nake's works were all made using random mathematical rules, such
as Uniform, Exponential, Gaussian, and Poisson. In an arrangement
of arbitrarily destroying randomly distributed types and adding
a self-developed random number generator, at the start of implementation,
random demands leads to the start values of the random program.
For this reason, no one can repeat the same drawing order (Nake,
2005).
Nake thinks that Bense, in No.19
of Rot 1), published Projects
of Generative Aesthetics which is regarded as a manifesto of "computer
art" (Nake, 2005). Bense emphasized that the aesthetic principle
of using mathematics as foundation includes not only material
nature and sensory nature but also the reappearance of the mathematics
of semantics and syntax. Generative aesthetics is said to be a
synthesis of control, rules and definitions and so helps effectively
to advance description of aesthetic types and categorizations.
Thus, aesthetic statements can be narrated in a systematic way,
formula steps can be analyzed and the system's syntactic structure
can be constructed as a generative mathematic description in order
to complete aesthetic structure. Although the simple images and
structures that a computer generates are not appealing to everyone,
in drawing methods through program's syntax, art can be modularized
and structured as well as depicted using syntax. Artists' tasks
are transferred into one of the elements. This changes traditional
art's aesthetic structure and representation of meaning. This
change is crucial to the generative images in this period. The
principle of "program" nature for this whole construction
is based on processes of the computer's mathematic and scientific
operation.
In the above-mentioned conception, aesthetic meaning of computer
art is not related to visual representation of traditional images,
but the program of creators' ideas is represented by using a program
system and mathematic logics as well as the culture and vigour
of the human, technology and art through computers. However, this
program meaning, under Jack Burnham's system aesthetics, surpasses
the program concept of mathematic logic and syntax.
Jack Burnham's System Aesthetics and "Program"
Inspired by Norbert Wiener's "cybernetics"
and Ross Ashby's mathematic logics, Jack Burnham proposed that
artists' thinking processes were based on a logical mathematic
approach – a control system process of searching for rules
and possibilities and continuously correcting and resolving problems.
Burnham explored the "program" principle of art in art
history (Shanken , 1998). In Burnham's Beyond Modern Sculpture
published in 1968, he adopted a historical view to explore traces
of technology and sculpture and the influence of technological
development on contemporary sculptures. He also proposed that
material disappears but system becomes the subject of sculpture,
emphasized system conception constructed through automatic control
system, and announced that artificial intelligence was becoming
an aesthetic form. According to Burnham, Cyborg art would become
a sculptural form of the future. Meantime, he also predicted that
technology would greatly influence art and become an art form
itself by the end of the century (Burnham , 1968).
Although Burnham's ideas still focused
on sculptures as the main subject of art creation, interestingly,
his analysis on automatic system development in a historical angle,
his prediction of contemporary digital art development, his announcement
of art material, and his emphasis on the importance of "program"
and "system" actually corresponded with Bense's idea
concerning generative aesthetics. Burnham's System Aesthetics
in 1968 more clearly defined "system" as a logical thinking
procedure of art creativity and proposed a conception of software
and hardware in art work. He thought that art's focus should be
transferred from form, colours and style into art program and
system, and that system is composed of "program." Through
detailed plans, every component (this component does not refer
to software, but includes every kind of artificial and natural
material, human and environmental) has its planned construction
for mutual relations and further generates the general overall
meaning.
In System Aesthetics, Burnham
took examples from Moholy-Nagy, who instructed workers of exhibited
scenes how to put enamel and metal works together through telephone,
and of Jan van der Marck, who exhibited records of dialogues between
artists and companies, to explain what form of program can become
a kind of fulfilled aesthetical motivation. Burnham also used
Robert Morris' work plan for the Chicago Art Gallery (local carpenters'
engaging in making and reorganizing work) as an example to explain
that detailed program message depiction of material processing
and plan narration is also a part of the aesthetics of work. He
also praised Robert Morris' use of underground train's steam as
an element of art creation because this artist surpassed the limitations
of objects and transferred energy to the subject of creation through
his arrangement of the program and implementation (Burnham, 1968).
In September 16, 1970, "SOFTWARE"
was exhibited in the Jewish Museum, New York. Burmham took an
example of this exhibition to prove the concept of "system
aesthetics" and proposed the influence of the age of the
message on artists' concepts of creation in structural change.
Not only is the "program" concept applied in program
system, but also it includes "program" organization
in creative thinking processes and the viewers' participation
in the "program" process. Thus, in the exhibition, three
types of art creation were represented.
The first type was behavioral performing
art engaged by conceptual artists, including Joseph Kosuth, Vito
Acconci, John Baldessari, Les Levine, Douglas Huebler, etc. For
example, in the art gallery, Vito Acconci followed instructions
of scripts to interfere with other people's private space. In
the exhibition venue, he followed viewers and tried to be close
to them. He wouldn't stop until they were aware that their own
private space had been interfered and then left the gallery. His
behaviour forced viewers to feel conscious of existence of their
private area although they are situated in a public place full
of people and then to decide when or how to define personal private
space (Paulsen , 2005). Another example is Douglas Huebler's Variable
Piece 4 New York City: Secrets which invited the viewer to exchange
information in the gallery. Needing to follow instructions, the
viewer used an anonymous approach to write down his own secret
on paper and put it into the box supplied at the exhibition and
also picked up a piece of paper with another person's secret.
In order to guarantee an entire anonymous approach, every secret
should have been kept in the box for 24 hours. When the exhibition
was closed, there were around 1,800 secrets altogether which had
completed this exchange behaviour. These secrets were compiled
into a book, published in 1973 (Huebler, 1973).
The second type is conceptual art
work: through cooperation between artists and technology experts
cooperate together and viewers' participate. Such artists include
Ted Victoria, Carl Fernbach-Flarsheim, Ted Victoria and Hans Haacke.
For example, In Hans
Haacke's Visitor's of profiles, under the technical assistance
of Scott Bradner (Art & Technology, Inc., Boston) and Digital
Equipment Corporation, at the exhibition, an approach by questionnaire
survey was made – the viewer was invited to fill in a questionnaire.
At the exhibition site, the information was input into a computer,
then processed, then tabularized to generate statistical information,
and then printed from the computer (Bijvoet, 1997). Adopting research
of population statistics being demonstrated in an art form, this
work incited wide discussion and got much concern and attention
from some cultural organizations and sponsors because of its implication
of political, economic and cultural criticism (Bonin, 2004).
The third type is the work made
by technology engineers which used art to fulfill technological
conceptions. Such artists include Theodor H. Nelson fulfilling
hypertext and Nicholas Negroponte leading Architecture Machine
Group (AMG), MIT. AMG's work Seek was an ecological environment
composed of an inductance installation, a robot's arm, and living
gerbil models controlled by computer. In a transparent box made
of plexiglass which had architectural space full of piled-up aluminum
objects, the gerbil would knock down these aluminum objects, destroy
structure and jump up to the top to cause environmental collapses.
Also, the system would sense this situation and the robot's arm
would be used to re-pile up these destroyed objects, re-arranging
them in order and re-construct the gerbil's living environment
(Wardrip-Fruin, Montfort (ed.), 2003). In addition to the exhibited
work, Burnham also invited artists such as Allan Kaprow, Nam June
Paik, etc. to display unfinished plans on the exhibited image
record (Shanken, 2001).
These above-mentioned pieces of
work in fact demonstrated four kinds of "program" meanings:
"logic program of constructing thinking," "program
of the viewer's participation," "program of computer's
logic processing," and "program of artificial and natural
environment." Through construction of the "behaviour
program," "computer program," and "environment
program," aesthetic meaning can be generated in the "program"
concept. The meaning of this "program" can be brought
into full play in contemporary digital art creation.
BOOM: "Program" Meaning of Contemporary Digital
Art
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Fig.1 (above): Rachel
Peachey and Paul Mosig, Lake Hart,
Digital Video, 2007, (©artist)
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Fig.2 (below): Alexandra
Gillespie's Measures, Short Film, 6
min, 2007, (©artist) |
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In "BOOM! Fast and Frozen Permutation
– Taiwan-Australia New Media Art Exhibition," among
all the exhibited work, several artists' work demonstrated
the importance of "program" and experience of keeping
away from visual and bodily response. Art is a result of combining
all elements, not of fragmented pieces during the process
(Burnham , 1968). So, "program" is an important
factor in constructing the work. If the "program"
is taken away, the work will loose its core meaning. For example,
in Rachel Peachey's and Paul Mosig's Lake Hart (Fig.1),
the artists used Lake Hart (a large salt pan in the middle
of the South Australian desert and also a part of the Woomera
Prohibited Area - a space used by the Australian and the United
States military to test weapons capability) as a filming scene.
An approach of improvisational behavioral performance was
employed to explore stories and imagination, constructed from
an interaction between ancient appearance and external invasion.
This work represents an incident of a continuously processing
program. When Peachey and Mosig were the residence artists
of Department of Archaeology & Natural History, ANU, Canberra,
they adopted methods of archaeology and natural history to
proceed with field-study collection and used different kinds
of objects, collected samples, oral history, documents, academic
research and technology approach to explore the interaction
between humans and environment. In Alexandra Gillespie's Measures
(Fig.2), speed signs from around Australia were collected,
photographed and reconfigured with composite footage of a
drive through the Brindabella mountain ranges from Namadgi
National Park (which was formerly a satellite tracking station
site and formed part of the space communication network used
to support the Apollo mission to the Moon). This environmental
meaning becomes a crucial element. Through investigation,
photographing, and re-organization, a special imagination
and expectation towards environment can be constructed as
well as a metaphor for a reaction to pressure that society
offers and human hearts have being implied to hope to maintain
possibility of "specific state." |
In Guang-ming Yuan's City Disqualified
(Fig.3), its program meaning originated from photographing,
observation, and computer photo-retouching techniques.
Through computer technology, different images filmed at
different times can appear on the screen at the same time.
When this program advances its implementing process, a
sense of delusion in space occurs and meantime the viewer's
reflection in his mind and re-thinking towards urban context
can be demonstrated. In U-Sheng Lin's Trace (Fig.4),
continuous repetitive behaviours of filming, basketball
shooting, and editing are shown: the "behaviour program"
is used to imitate the computer's "repetition program;"
in a post-demonstration process, employment of computer
collage technique is a behaviour program with a paradoxical
sense. These construct the program meaning of the work.
In Bo-jhih Huang's Beautiful Dream (Fig.5), the
artist used a scanner to scan every part of his body.
Here, scanning was employed to reconstruct a repetition
program of the artist's body; the body was transferred
into an object; and, in the post-making process, appearance
and messages existing in the artist himself were re-constructed.
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Fig.3 (above): Guang-ming Yuan, City Disqualified,
320cm*240cm, Digital Print, 2002, (©artist) |
Fig.4 (below) U-Sheng
Lin's Trace, Video, 2006, (©artist) |
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Fig.5 (left): Bo-jhih
Huang's Beautiful Dream, Moving Image, 2006 (©artist)
Fig.6 (middle): Pey Chwen Lin's Created Virtual Reality,
Interactive Installation, 2006, (©artist) Fig.7 (right):
Yu-Chuan Tseng & Chia-Hsiang Lee, Flow, Interactive
Installation, 2007, (©artist) |
Pey Chwen Lin's Created Virtual
Reality (fig.6), Yu-Chuan Tseng's & Chia-Hsiang Lee's
Flow (fig.7), Jien-junYeh's myBirthday=myPhilipGlass
(fig.8), Jason Nelson's Between Treacherous Objects (fig.9)and
Joanne Jakovich's Sonic Tai Chi (fig.10)– these
four pieces of works all invite the viewer's participation to
generate an interactive relationship. Through the viewer's individual
behaviour, interface input, or the body's mutual reaction, computer
logic processing is incited; through generative mathematical and
scientific operation, different interactive results are generated
and the viewer's personal work program and creative results are
constructed. This involves a "logic program of constructing
thinking," a "program of the viewer participation,"
and a "program of computer logic processing." In Lin's
Created Virtual Reality, "operation program"
is employed to imply the human being's control desire to nature:
through virtual reality, the program behaviour of nature is transformed
and the program rule of nature is re-constructed. In Tseng's &
Lee's Flow, the artists, using hackers' invading behaviour,
collected internet messages such as pictures and texts from news
websites and then transferred texts into inflexible computer speech
– which enabled the viewer to encounter the message once
more and to re-construct his own reading program and perceptual
capacity while making choices. In Yeh's myBirthday=myPhilipGlass,
using programming music to schedule behaviour, the artist invites
the viewer to key in his birthday, transfers it into a musical
message, and proceeds with computer's creativity program and message
transformation and recreation program. In Nelson's Between
Treacherous Objects, the viewer can break a traditional text-reading
attitude during images and texts, moving around and re-constructing
a reading program through his choice-making behaviour. In Joanne
Jakovich's Sonic Tai Chi, a new bodily perceptual experience
is established. The viewer can establish his own listening-to-sound
program through his own body's control. Here, the body becomes
a control factor and also incites the system's program logic control.
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Fig.8 (left): Jien-junYeh's
myBirthday=myPhilipGlass, Interactive Installation,
2006, (©artist) Fig.9 (middle): Jason Nelson, Between
Treacherous Objects, Interactive Flash artwork, 2006,
(©artist)Fig.10 (right): Joanne Jakovich, Sonic
Tai Chi, Interactive Installation, 2005, (©artist) |
Conclusion
The "program" concept
that the work shows is the general overall representation of results
through precise setting and control in the process of art creation
and the viewer's interaction. When Marcel Duchamp exhibited his
Fountain, an art form employing "program" as logic foundation
was established.2) Uniqueness
about digital art should not be limited to an approach of thinking
in pictorial images. When computers are easily operated, artists
should regard a computer as a tool or medium for creation. This
has its own nature of different meanings. Roger Malina thought
that since the 1960s, computer art had inherited from mathematical
and scientific operation, generative aesthetics and constructivism
and had a long-term relationship between art and mathematics.
But as software and hardware techniques become more and more mature,
artists regard the computer as a tool which can reduce labour
work and speed up creation of imitating traditional art to help
present both more realistic and more dream-like landscapes. This
makes a computer lack interesting features. Therefore, he thought
that in an excellent computer art work, the artist should consider
whether this work could be completed without any computer or not
and whether he could make good use of the new technology's uniqueness
in this work. Not only is a computer a kind of tool, but it is
also a kind of meta-tool which can introduce new art (Malina,
1998).
Burnham used a constructivist way
of analyzing art – erasing the superior nature of Western
art history and questioning the core problem of using computer
to do creation. He thought that artists should employ technology
to explore problems, not limit themselves to the beautiful visual
appearances generated by computer. The aesthetics of art and technology
lies in structure, organization and the process of delivering
messages through the use of system, software and hardware conceptions
to analyze and look at art. Bijvoet thought that Burnham's system
view would be suitable for artists and technology artists pursuing
new art because of their close relation to procedures, incidents,
time and space and technological applications. Artists need to
join in research crossing different fields and have a capacity
for analyzing knowledge systematically (Bijvoet, 1997). Through
the "program" conception of Max Bense's "generative
aesthetics" and Burnham's "system aesthetics,"
one can re-think the value of digital art, and thus meaning and
logical views can be provided for the new age of digital art.
All images are provided by
"BOOM! Fast and Frozen Permutation"– Taiwan-Australia
New Media Art Exhibition |
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