[-empyre-] artistic redirection (Re: JonCates)

[Felix Sattler <felixsattler@web.de>]

Hi all,

I feel the need for more transparency within my statements ;-)
I will try to keep them shorter in order to make it easier to reply to
certain topics.

> in Subject: [-empyre-] RE: Jim/Brendan: art/code transparency
> Felix wrote:
>> The documentation and publication of computer source code always thinks the
>> progress, the next programme, the improvement; the transparency in order
>> others can work on it(Jim: you described that for yourself).
> 
 JonCates replied (Re: [-empyre-] RE: Jim/Brendan: art/code transparency):

> Not necessarily, another reason to open source something is to allow
> for unexpected redirection to occur in someone else's interpretation
> of your source. This redirection or reuse does not require
> "improvement".

Good point. You are mentioning a very important aspect which very much
relates to various forms of art. Much of the 20th century's art and
especially artist/works working with "new" technology have employed a strong
sense for this redirection -often also understood as abuse with a positive
connotation. The artist can either criticise the original source (i.e. by
creating scenarios for negative effects or exaggerating those effects of
technology/etc.) or -and I think that is much more important- by expanding
existing paradigms or creating parallel paradigms where the redirected
source is either put in totally different environments or generates these
environments itself. According to German media philosopher Friedrich Kittler
(HU Berlin) a well-known example could be binaural(stereo) sound having
derived from war-technology used for guiding airplanes.

It might be very interesting to discuss which external (commercial) sources
can become artistic ones and how we can benefit from an artistic redirection
(also the risks i.e. becoming absorbed by these sometimes powerful sources)?
And: If we compare computer sciences to art: Does art have a better
possibility to redirect commercial/proprietary sources than computer science
has?

Felix