Skip to page content...
View Submissions
- Please choose an option:
- Title of Abstract:
Computational Craft (Ref #192)
- Date:
- 25-10-2006 19:55:30
- Status:
-
Accepted with revisions
- Rating:
- 6
-
Details:
- This paper will explore the use of computer programming within the context of traditional craft practice. The discussion will centre on the use of programming as a means of creative expression and as a part of the creation of unique digital artefacts. Using the ethos of the Arts and Crafts as a model, this paper will re-examine the traditional relationship between the maker and material within a context which approaches the computer environment as a new technological material, and which views programming as a craft-like practice.
The research takes the form of a thematic comparative study encompassing both personal creative practice as well as a range of work from other artists and designers who use programming code as their primary means of expression. The process and practice of creating and structuring programming code into a visual, digital artefact is examined in light of the work, ethos and philosophical approach of the Arts and Crafts movement. The research also explores specific, key themes of the Arts and Crafts movement which resonate with the practice and approach of the creative programmer. The status, use and understanding of material; the emphasis on individuality; the reaction against industrial, mechanised processes; and an emphasis on hand-crafted artefacts are all themes which are used to examine the craft-like process and output of the creative programmer.
The paper will present the argument that, although the surface values of traditional craft and programming may be vastly different in terms of visual outcome, the use of computation as a means of expression can be likened to an approach which reflects the ethos of the Arts and Crafts movement. Computation for creative purposes represents a shift away from the standard industrial, pre-packaged processes for creating work. It emphasises a rejection of the 'industrial, mechanised' processes of ready-made software, a means of 'getting close' to the computer as digital material, and a way of manipulating, moulding (crafting) this material into unique, hand-written digital artefacts which exhibit a poetic hand-crafted quality.
Against the technological backdrop of industrially manufactured software-driven creative practice, individual computationally created pieces of work may, therefore, represent a new kind of hand-crafted object for the digital realm. The practice and process of programming can thus be viewed as a type of digital craft for the new material of the computational environment.
Reviewer Comments: