art && code symposium short report
TRANSCRIPT
Art&&[email protected],2009
OVERVIEWArt&&CodewasaComputationalThinkingconferenceconcernedwith"programmingenvironmentsforartists,youngpeople,andtherestofus".TheconferencetookplacetheweekendofMarch7‐9,2009onthecampusofCarnegieMellonUniversity(CMU)inPittsburgh.Itfeatured26workshopsin11differentarts‐programminglanguages,aswellaslecturepresentationsbyfifteenofthekeyinnovatorsleadingsignificantrevolutionsinthedemocratizationofsoftware‐artseducation,anexhibitionofcomputationalart,andafilmseriesofgenerativeart.TheArt&&Codeconferencewasfundedthroughthere‐distributionofaMicrosoftResearchGrantinComputationalThinking,intheformofaPROBEstudyfromtheComputationalThinkingCenteratCarnegieMellon.STATEMENTJustastrueliteracyinEnglishmeansbeingabletowriteaswellasread,trueliteracyinsoftwaredemandsnotonlyknowinghowtousecommercialsoftwaretools,buthowtocreatenewsoftwareforoneselfandforothers.Recently,anumberofprojectsdedicatedtodemocratizingtheeducationofcomputationalthinkinghavecoalesced.Emergingprimarilyfromtheartssector,asetofnewprogrammingtools(andaccompanyingpedagogictechniques)havebeendevelopedbyartists,andforartists,tohelpregularfolksandothernon‐computer‐scientistslearntomakesoftware.Thesetoolkits–manyofwhicharefree,open‐sourceinitiatives–havemadeenormousinroadstowardsexpandingthecomputationalskillsandinterestsofhundredsofthousandsofcreativepeopleworldwide.TOOLKITSArt&&Codefeaturedworkshopandlecturepresentationsbytheleadcreatorsbehindsomeofthemostwidely‐adoptedtoolkitsforartsprogramming,includingProcessing,openFrameworks,Max/MSP/Jitter,PureData,VVVV,Scratch,HacketyHack,Alice,ActionScript(Flash),ExtendScript,andSilverlight.TheArt&&Codeeventbecameafirst‐of‐itskindsummit,asthecreatorsofthesetoolkitshadneverbeforebeengatheredtogetherinoneplace.
Theseprogrammingtoolsvarywidelyinorigin;whilesomearecommercialproductsproducedbylargeteams(Silverlight,Actionscript),andothersareprojectsbyacademiclaboratories(Alice,Scratch),othersareproducedbysmallteamsof2‐5self‐organizingartists(Processing,openFrameworks,PureData)andcreatedwithessentiallynofunding.Thecommunity‐createdtoolkitsareofspecialsignificancebecausetheyaretheonlyarts‐programmingenvironmentsthatarebothfreeandopen‐source.Theiruseisgrowingextremelyquickly,andtheprojectscreatedwiththempushtheenvelopesofart,technologyandculture.ForMicrosoft,inexpensiveopportunitiesexistforcorporatesponsorshipoftheseprojects,ensuringgoodinteroperabilityoftheseenvironmentswithMSoperatingsystems,andhighvisibilityoftheMSbrandamongleading‐edgecreators.OUTREACHTheArt&&Codeconferencebroughttogetheradiversegroupof234registeredparticipantsfrom7countriesand23statesoftheUSA.Theiragesrangedfrom11to75.Thereweremiddle‐schoolteachersfromaNativeAmericanreservationinMontana;universityprofessorsofComputerScience;cyberpunkEuropeanC++hackers;graduatestudentsinmediaartsandinteractiondesign;andabevyofhigh‐schoolandundergraduatestudentsfromalargeswathoftheAmericanRustBelt.FUTURETheArt&&Codeconferencepromptlyestablishedawell‐regarded“brand”ofoutreacheventsthatwehopetocontinueinthefuture.UsingfundsremainingfromthefirstPROBE,asecondconference,MobileArt&&Code,isplannedforNovember6‐8,2009.Thiseventwillfocusondemocratizingtheprogrammingofmobilephones,telephonynetworksandlocativemedia–andwillfeatureworkshopsandlecturepresentationsbyleadingartistsanddesignerscreatingnewapplicationsfortheAppleiPhone,GoogleAndroid,NokiaS90,AsteriskPBXtoolkit,ShortMessaging(SMS),andWindowsMobile.ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSArt&&CodewasmadepossiblebyagenerousgrantfromMicrosoftResearch,withoversightfromtheCenterforComputationalThinkingatCarnegieMellonUniversity,whosemissionisto"advocateforthewidespreaduseofcomputationalthinkingtoimprovepeople’slives",andwithadministrativeandlogisticalsupportfromtheSTUDIOforCreativeInquiryatCMU,whosemissionistosupport"atypical,interdisciplinary,andinter‐institutionalresearchprojectsattheintersectionofarts,sciencesandtechnologies."TheArt&&CodesymposiumwouldnothavebeenpossiblewithoutthegeneroussupportofMicrosoftResearch,whosesubsidiesallowedanunusuallydiversegroupofpeopletoattend,whilealsosecuringtheparticipationofsignificantworldleadersinartsprogramming.MOREINFORMATIONAllArt&&Codeconferenceactivitiesanddiscussionsarearchivedathttp://www.artandcode.comand/orhttp://artandcode.ning.com.CompletevideosofArt&&Codelecturepresentationsareonlineat:http://www.vimeo.com/sfci/videos.