Primary Codes: Book and exhibition
- Submitting institution
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De Montfort University
- Unit of assessment
- 32 - Art and Design: History, Practice and Theory
- Output identifier
- 32027
- Type
- T - Other
- DOI
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-
- Location
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- Brief description of type
- Multi-component output: a collection of creative and critical work on a related topic that address different aspects of a single project and are collectively greater than the sum of their parts
- Open access status
- -
- Month
- -
- Year
- 2017
- URL
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- Supplementary information
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- Request cross-referral to
- -
- Output has been delayed by COVID-19
- No
- COVID-19 affected output statement
- -
- Forensic science
- No
- Criminology
- No
- Interdisciplinary
- No
- Number of additional authors
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1
- Research group(s)
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- Proposed double-weighted
- Yes
- Double-weighted statement
- Primary Codes (book and exhibition), results from three years of collaborative research into the mostly unknown history of the pioneering use of computer programming in the development of artworks. Working with the pioneers Harold Cohen, Ernest Edmonds, Paul Brown and Frieder Nake, Poltronieri curated the exhibition Primary Codes, [2015, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil]. The book and exhibition reveal the deep roots of the use of computers as instruments of mediation in the field of the arts, revealing how the pioneering work of these artists, which began in the 1960s, generated innovations in artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and human-computer interaction.
- Reserve for an output with double weighting
- No
- Additional information
- Primary Codes was the result of a three year research project to investigate the roots of computer art, investigating its consequent role in the connection between art and technology in contemporary art. The English artists, Harold Cohen, Ernest Edmonds and Paul Brown and the German artist, Frieder Nake, pioneered the use of computer programming in the development of artworks and, even today, they continue to transform and innovate the art that emerges from the use of this medium.
At the heart of the work is algorithmic code, a language with an immense creative potential when applied in the making of art. The relationship of these artists with computer technology is not superficial and is by no means limited to entering commands on a machine interface. The process has an intellectual and subjective relationship with the creation of codes aimed at creating an aesthetic experience. The research revealed how the work developed by these artists since the 1960s was the catalyst for innovations in several fields, such as artificial intelligence, virtual reality and human-computer interaction.
The co-curated exhibition Primary Codes, took place at Oi Futuro Museum, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, between June and October 2015. This research uncovered previously unknown roots of the use of computers as instruments of mediation, which are usually considered to be a contemporary phenomenon in the field of arts. Using the research to map the artists who were the precursors of this practice has led to various events, such as the exhibition and book, lectures and talks in various contexts, including in elementary schools in Brazil. The Brazilian media, including TV, extensively covered the events, and important international magazines, such as the British Studio International, generating an unprecedented impact in the Brazilian context and attracting an audience from all regions of the country.
- Author contribution statement
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- Non-English
- No
- English abstract
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