[-empyre-] Poetry and/or poetic

[Pall Thayer]

I've been loosely following the discussion here for the past couple  
of weeks, finding particular interest in the theme due to a  
relatively new project of mine. The project is called Microcodes  
(http://pallit.lhi.is/microcodes) and is described like this:

"Microcodes are very small code-based artworks. Each one is a fully  
contained work of art. The conceptual meaning of each piece is  
revealed through a combination of the title, the code and the results  
of running them on a computer."

What makes this relevant to the discussion here is the fact that  
these Microcodes are not being displayed as running code but rather  
as the code itself. Viewers are forced to engage directly with this  
code if they want to see what it produces (a simple HowTo is  
included). But viewers also need to be aware of the fact that the  
"meaning" or "concept" behind each piece of code may be more clearly  
revealed within the code or title than within the result of running  
them. But this varies and most often it's only fully revealed through  
a combination of all three.

Now, personally, I wouldn't refer to these works as "digital poetry"  
and I think this is mostly due to the fact that they represent a  
point that I've reached through my work as a digital artist working  
with programming code. As a visual artist I see them as being more  
closely related to the work of Sol Lewitt and Lawrence Weiner than to  
poetry. Yet, at the same time, the works have a sort of poetic feel  
to them as the primary experience is embedded somewhere within the  
haze of title, text, product.

It would be interesting to hear what others think about this and to  
find out what effect this line of thought might have on the theories/ 
definitions of e-poetry/digital poetry that have already emerged.

best r.
Pall Thayer
--
Pall Thayer
palli at pallit.lhi.is
http://www.this.is/pallit