Algorithmic art: from graphical and kinetic to digital
We encounter algorithmic art much more often than we may think. Ornamentation, kinetic art and digital generative art share common structures, grounds, and concepts. More about them—in our new column.
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Digital path of Venice Biennale 6 | Antonio Geusa: How do we conceptualise NFT?
A recap of digital art representation at Venice Biennale over the last half of the century.
<p dir="ltr">Throughout decades the Venice Biennale has been witnessing and hosting various steps of digital art in its evolution. In the 1960s, the Venice Biennale prize was awarded to the international network and movement New Tendencies created in Zagreb in 1968, which according to scholars Jussi Parikka and Darko Fritz was at the time “the only long-term initiative” that “started to contextualise digital art within contemporary art with a historical discourse”.</p> <p dir="ltr"> </p> <p dir="ltr">Later on in 1970, 35th Venice Biennale was featuring computer art by showing <em>Running Cola</em> by a Japanese collective of art and engineering students The Computer Technique Group founded by Masao Kohmura and Haruki Tsuchiya, which according to Jussy Parrika and Darko Fritz were believed to be “one of the earliest examples of the computer image morphing technique”. Descendants of the post-war generation, they were positioning themselves as a think tank aiming to “deliberate carefully the relationships between human beings and machines” by a “strategic collaboration with artists, scientists” without falling into praising or criticising the computer era.</p> <p dir="ltr"> </p> <p dir="ltr">In 1986, when the Venice Biennale was focused on art and science, the presence of digital media, in the framework of <em>Laboratoria Ubrica</em> curated by Roy Ascott, Tom Sherman, and Tommaso Trini presented <em>Planetary Network</em>, which was a worldwide computer network–slow-scan TV project with participants from all over the world. The pictures and faxes that were created in the process were then exchanged between different continents and the texts were sent via the medium of ARTEX. The project was questioning the very principles of an established art system of museums and galleries. Its results, as Ascott later mentioned in his book <em>Das Gesamtdatenwerk</em> (1989) “broadened the scope and possibly the nature of individual creativity” by activating “a whole stream of interactive communications media” including “electronic mail, computer conferences, videotext, slow scan TV” and various kinds of interfaces.</p> <p dir="ltr"> </p> <p dir="ltr">In the early 2000s, the Venice Biennale was among major art events that according to the philosopher and specialist on digital art Hervé Fischer ‘reignited the debate over the state of the arts’ and the return of traditional and digital arts towards craftsmanship.</p> <p dir="ltr"> </p> <p dir="ltr">The 59th Biennale in 2022 celebrated a new milestone of digital art by featuring 200 NFT artworks at the Decental Art Pavillion. <em>The Digital Odyssey </em>summed up the preliminary results of the development and transformation of digital art over the past almost six decades since mid 1960s. That year's Biennale definitely inscribed artificial intelligence and phygitals into the context of contemporary art.</p> <p dir="ltr"> </p> <p dir="ltr"><img src="/storage/news-image/cqv0da2rprek5an8pn70.png" alt="Artwork by Matthew Attard" width="670" height="377"></p> <pre dir="ltr"><em> Will Follow The Ship</em> by Matthew Attard, 2024</pre> <p dir="ltr"> </p> <p dir="ltr">However, as <a href="https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2024/04/17/venice-biennale-2024-the-must-see-pavilions-in-the-arsenale">noticed</a> by art critics, the current 60th Biennale of 2024 lacks a visible input of digital art, with an exception of Malta pavilion project <em>I Will Follow The Ship</em> by Matthew Attard curated by Elyse Tonna and Sara Dolfi Agostini. Attard’s artwork lies on the intersection between the physical and digital realms. He even <a href="https://www.labiennale.org/en/art/2024/malta">shares</a> the credits of the project with a machine—an eye-tracker. By comparing old anonymous ship drawings with contemporary digital drawing Attard invites us to reflect on the shifts of power in the era of latest computer technologies.</p> <p dir="ltr"> </p> <p dir="ltr">Reflecting the contemporary era, the Venice Biennale has made several attempts to approach digital art over more than half a century, sometimes in juxtaposition with different disciplines. One way or another, digital art, constantly changing predicates and names, is as imminent as climate change, and its waves have already reached the threshold of the exhibition halls.</p> <p dir="ltr"> </p> <h4 dir="ltr">Read more:</h4> <p> </p> <p><img src="/storage/news-image/cqv0bdarprek5an8pn50.png" alt="Histories of Post-Digital: 1960 and 1970s Media Art Snapshots" width="670" height="1202"></p> <pre dir="ltr"><br>Histories of Post-Digital: 1960 and 1970s Media Art Snapshots<br>Jussi Parikka, Darko Fritz. Edited by Ekmel Ertan.<br>The catalogue of the exhibition curated by Ekmel Ertan and Darko Fritz, took place at Akbank Sanat between 17th December 2014 and 21st February 2015.<br><br><br><img src="/storage/news-image/cqv0bsqrprek5an8pn5g.png" alt="At a Distance. Precursors to Art and Activism on the Internet" width="670" height="856"><br><br><br></pre> <pre dir="ltr">At a Distance. Precursors to Art and Activism on the Internet<br>Edited by Annmarie Chandler and Norie Neumark.<br>2005 Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2005.</pre>
Digital art as a social remedy in solving technologically-induced problems
How digital artists reflect on technologies, our eventual co-existence with them and the changing forms of communication.
<h4 dir="ltr">Digital technologies make our everyday life easier in many ways. However, excessive use may bring us some struggles such as anxiety from doom scrolling, insomnia, eye strain, and a feeling of social isolation (powered by 5G). At a glance, it could seem that screens and what we see on them are the overbearing evil of today. Hence, one might rightfully question how to “recover” from technologically-induced problems? One of the answers, other than straight-up digital detox, is digital art! </h4> <p dir="ltr"> </p> <p dir="ltr">Let’s face it — the digital world has become an inevitable part of our life, to the point that there is no way back, whether we like it or not. The artists’ goal, as usual, is to conceptualise it on an existential and aesthetic level. This includes artistic reflection on technologically-induced challenges that we’re facing. When some artists ponder the prospects of humans coexisting with technology, others analyse the medium — from software to screens.</p> <p><strong> </strong></p> <h4 dir="ltr">Emotional state</h4> <p> </p> <p><img src="/storage/news-image/cqbskbqrprek5an8pm1g.png" alt="Continuum Collection v.2" width="670" height="350"></p> <pre dir="ltr">Continuum Collection v.2 by Krista Kim. Available to purchase on TAEX</pre> <p><strong> </strong></p> <p dir="ltr">Staying in front of the screens for hours and days may let us lose track of time, get us stressed or anxious. However, the very same screens or augmented reality glasses often serve as a tool of psychological and medical support, certified by ministries of health. Indeed, healthcare gets digitised, and mental well-being is no exception. COVID-19 pandemic followed by a global crisis era only increased the demand for new digital ways of healing. No wonder artists have embraced it as well.</p> <p dir="ltr">Thus, the renowned artist Krista Kim created the digital work Continuum that travels around the globe and was presented in the framework of the last World Economic Forum in Davos. With her shifting abstract minimalist landscape inspired by the Ryoanji Temple Garden in Kyoto she invites each and everyone to take a moment for themselves by offering an environment to mediate. <a href="/news/31/continuum-extended">Currently Continuum is on show at Outernet London</a>, proudly presented by TAEX. Please note that some NFTs from Continuum collection are still <a href="/drop/39">available</a> for collecting on our platform.</p> <p><strong> </strong></p> <h4 dir="ltr">New existence</h4> <p> </p> <p><strong> <img src="/storage/news-image/cqbsku2rprek5an8pm2g.png" alt="Entangled Others" width="670" height="377"></strong></p> <pre dir="ltr">'specious upwellings' by Entangled Others</pre> <p><strong> </strong></p> <p dir="ltr">The eventual cohabitation of humans and non-human entities becomes a focus of artistic reflection. The art group Entangled Others is convinced that it’s not only about coexistence but about the intertwining of these two worlds. “The rich substrate of the uncanny, eerie spaces between us and the non-human world cannot remain as an aesthetic space, our world cannot bear this self-imposed distance and denial of our inter-twined state of us and others”. Entangled Others co-founder Sofia Crespo in her solo work shares the idea that on the ontological level “technologies are a biased product of the organic life that created them and not a completely separated object”.</p> <p><strong><br><br></strong></p> <p dir="ltr">Digital technologies affect our self-perception as well. For an American artist Petra Cortright, the fact of constantly recording and being watched became the subject of her artwork Vvebcam (2007).</p> <p><strong> </strong></p> <p><strong><img src="/storage/news-image/cqbsl3irprek5an8pm30.png" alt="Petra Cortright" width="670" height="483"></strong></p> <pre dir="ltr">Vvebcam, Petra Cortright</pre> <p><strong> </strong></p> <h4 dir="ltr">Inclusive spaces</h4> <p dir="ltr"> </p> <p dir="ltr">Many curators see digital art as a tool to overcome the social boundaries of the traditional art world and to facilitate contact with the audience. As curator Daniel Peace admitted in an interview with TAEX, the development of digital art had “at first a natural progression, but the real dive into everything was when COVID-19 hit. Virtual projects like Discord Club and Clubhouse appeared. The virtuality was part of a lot of panel discussions. During the pandemic, we were not sure that it wouldn't stay forever”</p> <p dir="ltr"> </p> <p dir="ltr">Digital art environments have offered this unique opportunity to bring together renowned artists and underrepresented ones.<strong><br></strong></p> <p dir="ltr"> </p> <p dir="ltr">Facing a digital era, artists are rethinking self-perception, communication patterns and conceptualising the new existence of organic and artificial entities. Where will this new cultural age take us? Hopefully, to a place of progress, minus the eye strain. </p> <p><strong><br><br><br></strong></p> <pre dir="ltr">Visuals on cover: 'specious upwellings' by Entangled Others</pre> <p> </p>
Ornamentation in Crypto Art
<h3 dir="ltr">In the meta-universe, an artist can create ornamentation out of anything. Moreover, AI makes it quite easy to do so. Ornament could be a way to demonstrate the infinity of space and time. In the case of crypto art, the question is, how and why artists may use it? And does ornamentation have the potential to become a medium itself in this particular field?</h3> <p><strong> </strong></p> <p dir="ltr">From a purely decorative element to a conceptual centre, the role of ornament in an artwork may vary. In sacred art, ornamentation serves to express fundamental ideas such as the world's infinity and divine omnipresence, where “harmony is central” as Daud Sutton <a href="http://islamicmanuscripts.info/reference/books/Sutton-2007-Design/Sutton-2007-Design-00-33.pdf">wrote</a>. Instead in geek aesthetics glitch art, that uses software errors as a medium, artists may create vivid ornaments from the point of computer program mistakes and disruption, in other words, out of something opposing the very idea of harmony.</p> <p><strong> </strong></p> <p dir="ltr">When it comes to crypto art, we see that anything could become an element of a pattern and could be turned into an ornament. An artist can pick any kind of data in order to construct an ornament. And then express it in various forms. Repetitive visual, textual or music loops can show a perpetual expansion of space and time. The curiosity towards ornaments is expanded towards commercial crypto art presented by luxury jewellery brands such as <a href="https://www.voguebusiness.com/technology/emeralds-rubies-and-nfts-inside-bulgaris-new-era-high-jewellery">Bulgari</a>. </p> <p><strong> </strong></p> <h4 dir="ltr"><strong>From optical illusions to quirky kaleidoscopes</strong></h4> <p> </p> <p><strong><img src="/storage/news-image/cnuq5parprevf54j1kh0.png" alt="Tyler Hobbs - Fidenza #58" width="960" height="1151"></strong></p> <pre>Tyler Hobbs, Fidenza #58<br><br></pre> <p dir="ltr">Some crypto artists as Tyler Hobbs (b. 1987) <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2023/grails-part-ii/fidenza-479">prefer</a> minimalist and abstract patterns, some stick to letter or geometric forms as the pioneer of generative art Vera Molnar (b. 1924). Inspired by organic patterns of crystals, natural stones or microscopic images of cells, certain artists as Jason Sims (b. 1981) <a href="https://www.artsy.net/artist/jason-sims">explore</a> the limits of optical illusion and the perception of space.</p> <p><strong> </strong></p> <p dir="ltr">London-based artist Funa Ye took the elements of Chinese ‘Smart’ (or ‘Shamate’) subculture and state propaganda to create utopian and campy landscapes, ornamentation plays a significant role. In her <a href="/artist/5">Neo-Mastr series</a> members of the Smart community and the visual elements that surround them make up a quirky kaleidoscope where ideology and underground culture are combined. Ornament here is the way to show the social complexity and the existence of an individual in modern China and the simultaneous presence of various aesthetic elements in everyday life.</p> <p dir="ltr"> </p> <p dir="ltr"> </p> <p dir="ltr"><img src="/storage/news-image/cnuq6c2rprevf54j1khg.png" alt="Funa Ye - Neo-Mastr Portraits" width="670" height="486"></p> <pre>Funa Ye, Neo-Mastr Portraits, Available for purchase on TAEX via <a href="/drop/31" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the link</a></pre> <p> </p> <p dir="ltr">How ornaments may affect identity? Jason McGrath sees digital multitudes as something that “begins with sameness” in the contrast to mass human ornaments that aim, as he <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/43492533">writes</a>, to ‘make what are organic and different—individual human bodies—look, as much as possible, mechanised and identical’. However Funa Ye’s NFT drop is neither of those things. She uses ornamentation as the tool to show agency of the members of a subculture community.</p> <p><strong> </strong></p> <p dir="ltr">Ornamentation has always been associated with decorative art i.e. applied art. Which by many may still be considered as secondary or even not art at all. For Victoria Salinger ‘the argument that beautiful or interesting patterns are not art—along with the corollary idea that “mere ornamentation” is not art, not valuable, and not interesting—lies at the heart of discussions of abstract art from the early twentieth century, including from the very artists so many 1960s and 1970s computer artists showed interest in and emulated, such as Mondrian, Wassily Kandinsky, and Paul Klee.’. </p> <p><strong> </strong></p> <h4 dir="ltr"><strong>Ornament as a result of labour or observation</strong></h4> <p><strong> </strong></p> <p dir="ltr">Thanks to several generations of female artists, finally such media as embroidery or needlework, which previously were often labelled as secondary or considered as ‘female crafts’, have taken their rightful place among other techniques and are less and less questioned. Hopefully ornamentation as an idea will follow the same path and all the prejudices will stay aside. Salinger <a href="https://direct.mit.edu/grey/article-abstract/doi/10.1162/GREY_a_00207/10736/Writing-Calculations-Calculating-Writing-Hanne?redirectedFrom=fulltext">argues</a> that the process of calculation may and should be perceived as a kind of human labour. She suggests looking at numerous handwritten tables of numbers created by a German conceptual artist Hanne Darboven as a ‘consciously political choice, engaged with questions about the changing nature of labour, authorship, and responsibility in the information age’.</p> <p dir="ltr"> </p> <p dir="ltr"><img src="/storage/news-image/cnuq7sirprevf54j1ki0.png" alt="Hanne Darboven" width="981" height="682"></p> <pre>Hanne Darboven, Section of the Century Calender</pre> <p dir="ltr"> </p> <p dir="ltr">Most of the ornaments that we see in crypto artworks are software generated, however there is always a place for ‘found patterns’. Moreover crypto art may be seen as a source of a ‘new organic’, i.e. in Mat Collishaw in his project ‘Heterosis’ <a href="https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2023/04/17/haroon-mirza-mat-collishaw-nft-projects-ethereum-eco">offers</a> collectors to cultivate animated digital flowers, by combining floral genetic coding with computer algorithms. The collector can impact the final result, but Collishaw aims to encourage collectors to interact with each other through cross-breeding digital flowers with each other. The artist has laid down recessive genes that can produce unpredictable results in certain combinations. This opens a participative potential of crypto art and manifests how synthetic can transform into organic and backwards.</p> <p> </p>