Different interpertations of what Software Art is

Software Art is a layed and complex subject. The exact defintions and practices of what is and is not software art is still being debated. Here are two contrasting viewpoints:

Above all, software art today no longer writes its programs out of nothing, but works within an abundance of available software code. - Florian Cramer
If software is generally defined as executable formal instructions, logical scores, then the concept of software is by no means limited to formal instructions for computers. The first, English-language notation of the Dadaist poem qualifies as software just as much as the three notations in the Perl programming language - Florian Cramer

One thus could say that contemporary software art operates in a postmodern condition in which it takes pre-existing software as material - reflecting, manipulating and recontextualizing it. - Florian Cramer

If any algorithm can be executed mentally, as it was common before computers were invented, then of course software can exist and run without hardware - Florian Cramer


Software art
Focus on the surface ("phenotext")
created by a generative process ("black
box problem")
Focus on generative process (set in motion by a
"genotext") which might generate surfaces or other results
Software as pragmatic/neutral tool
serving to create a certain result; the tool
itself is not being questioned
Software as culture which is being questioned; interest in
aesthetical and political subtexts; software can be
"experimental" and "non-pragmatic"
Software as pragmatic-generative tool
Software or code as a work of its own (possibly
experimental)
Efficient code ("beautiful algorithms"*)
Code as excess, code as extravagance, not necessarily
efficient
Employment of generative processes in
order to negate intentionality
»Software artists […] seem to conceive of generative
systems not as negation of intentionality, but as balancing
of randomness and control. […] Far from being simply art
for machines, software art is highly concerned with artistic
subjectivity and its reflection and extension into generative
systems.«** (Cramer/Gabriel)
Fascination of the generative
Interest in the "performativity" of code -Inke Arns, Berlin

Works from the field of software art, or experimental
software »are not art that has been created with the help of the computer, but art that happens
in the computer; software is not programmed by artists in order to produce autonomous
artworks, but the software itself is the artwork. -Inke Arns, Berlin
Florian Cramer

WHO IS THE ARTIST

Who is the Artist in Interactive Software Art?

The Software designer?
- the person who creates the basis for the art. Lays the ground work

The Computer?
- is able to randomize variable, which means its an independent player.

The User?
- inputs different variables, customizing the artwork.

Ableton Live - musical software art

"I like the software that explores new or different synthesis techniques:
granular or the powerful FFT and new agregate synthesis in KYMA.
I also like to be able to work with sound in a visual way, like viewing the
waveforms to edit or compose. It offers a level of abstraction from the
traditional twelve-note-octave of a keyboard and an abstraction from
the notion of "music" in general. It's more like painting
or sculpture . . . visual composition . . . as opposed to music."

- Taylor Deupree, Electronic Musician, Graphic Designer

LINK - the conceptual definition of software art

http://userpage.fu-berlin.de/~cantsin/homepage/
writings/software_art/concept_notations/
concepts_notations_software_art.html

Fractal Images

Codeworks, Software Art, and Generative Art

From the article Sveta posted below, titled Read_me, run_me, execute_me:

“Software art does not regard software merely as a pragmatic, invisible tool generating certain visible results or surfaces, but on the contrary focuses on the program code itself.”

Term codeworks:
“The codeworks, to use a term coined by Alan Sondheim, of these writers and programmer-artists are prime examples for a digital poetry which reflects the intrisic textuality of the computer. But they do so not by being computer poetry to be read by computers but by playing with the confusions and thresholds of machine language and human language, and by reflecting the cultural implications of these overlaps.”

“The hypothesis that there is no such thing as digital media, but only digital code which can be stored in and put out on any analog medium, is perfectly verified by codework poetry.”

---

Generative Art vs. Software Art:

The article also talks about generative art versus software art:
“Software art and generative art can therefore not be used synonymously. Rather, these two notions function in different registers.”

Wikipedia's definition of generative art:
“Generative art is art or design generated, composed, or constructed through computer software algorithms, or similar mathematical or mechanical autonomous processes. [...] An artist or creator will usually set down certain ground-rules or formulae and/or templates materials, and will then set a random or semi-random process to work on those elements. The results will remain somewhat within set limits, but may also be subject to subtle or even startling mutations.”

The article asserts that software art, on the other hand, referrs to the art of writing the code itself. Generative art (what we commonly refer to as "software art") is the product of this code.

---

AARON:

AARON, a "cybernetic artist," is software that creates generative art. Designed by Harold Cohen, it creates original artistic images on your computer screen based on Cohen's code.
A company called Kurzweil CyberArt Technologies (slogan: “We create software that creates art”) supposedly offers samples and a download of AARON, but the links and download are not working.

That one article

This is that article we talked about...

- "the software is the art"

LeCielEstBleu

I thought the SoftwareArtSpace had some very unique concepts and ideas, so I looked into one of the designers, LeCielEstBlue:

Founded in 2000, LeCielEstBleu specializes in the creation of highly-interactive, original interfaces and applications. Their work has received numerous international awards and has been exhibited throughout the world. They are best known for PuppetTool, an experimental animation tool; SetSearch, a visual search engine; and La Pâte à Son [Sound Dough], a dynamic and generative musical composition tool and sound toy recently exhibited at Ars Electronica. LeCielEstBleu’s principal artists and authors are Frédéric Durieu (code), Kristine Malden (media), and Jean-Jacques Birgé (music).

The site features many experimental shockwave programs that offer user interaction. One of my favorites was the PuppetTool, where you can create interactive animals. Here you can play with some of the puppets created with this tool: zoo.

Not a DVD. Not a slide show. A new art form

--The idea behind softwareartspace--

We represent and distribute software art from the world’s leading artists—a new breed of artists who utilize the latest tools and software to create extraordinary screen-based experiences. The art is derived from custom code that is written by the artist. In traditional terms, the code represents paint or clay that the artist uses to create. It is molded, tweaked, massaged, layered until the artist is happy with the results of the executed code. The results, just as with all art, can vary drastically. The works can be simple. Complex. Abstract. Figurative. Your artwork is delivered in a beautiful hand-crafted box with a CD. It is dynamic. Alive. Constantly generating new forms. Since the art is “unframed”, you choose how to present it—large plasma, small LCD, touch screen or wireless mouse, etc. The experience can be a dedicated one, just as you hang a single photo or a painting. Or it can be placed on an existing system in your home. There are many options.

software {ART} space

Examples of artwork

General Definition of Software Art

Software art refers to works of art where software, or concepts from software, play an important role; for example software applications which were created by artists and which were intended as artworks.

Software art as an artistic discipline has attained growing attention since the late 1990s. It is closely related to Internet art since it heavily relies on the Internet, most notably the World Wide Web, for dissemination and critical discussion of the works. Browser art is an important subset of software art.

Since 2000, software art has become a genre worthy of critical speculation and merit. Art festivals such as Transmediale (Berlin), Prix Ars Electronica (Linz) and readme (Helsinki) have devoted considerable attention to the medium and through this have helped to bring software art to a wider audience of theorists and academics. However, there is some concern over whether software art as a specific genre is merely a passing trend.

-Wikkipedia

Hi group members

I guess just wanted to test this out...

sveta and ashley, say hi when you get your account!

i forwarded the email to max so hopefully he'll get in too.