Language, memory and volition: Toward an aesthetics of computer arts.

摘要

This dissertation examines the aesthetic and technical parameters of computer artworks in order to lead toward an aesthetics of computer arts. As the roots of language, both natural and artificial; memory and volition continue to be embedded in our computational means, (a circumstance not found in other artistic media), this dissertation searches for traces and mirrors of cultural discourse to determine how they might be applied to a new or revised critical theory of computer arts.; For an increasing number of artists the computer has become the means and/or site for making art. Computer arts describes artworks created through the use of a computer or computer systems, including visual imagery, text or literary works, and music or dance performances, as well as sound and audio installations, whether interactive or not. These works are not restricted to a specific discipline, genre or output medium and do not necessarily require the presence or operation of the computer during the aesthetic experience, as is the case with interactive installations and performances. This dissertation focuses solely on fine art.; Computer arts form a praxis in which artists actively engage and appropriate technology and infuse it with their own visions. Computer artists have had to mediate between the economies and ideologies within the dominant art world and the commercial environment of product development and consumer markets. As early as the 1950s, artists started to create art using analog computers, which were later followed by digital systems. Throughout the span of its almost 50-year history, with multiple transformations of system configurations, artists have persisted in utilizing the computer for creative expression.; Although there is an acknowledged history of computer arts, no codified aesthetic methods that are applicable to computer arts has been established. Through an investigation of the utility of language, memory, and volition, three selected computer art works are interpretatively analyzed on the basis of the proposed aesthetic framework. They are: ComplexCity by John F. Simon, Jr.; Protrude, Flow by Sachiko Kodama and Minako Takeno; and Illuminated Universal Turing Machine by Roman Verostko.