BORIS ČUČKOVIĆHRVOJE STANČIĆ
DEPARTMENT OF INFORMATION SCIENCESFACULTY OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
UNIVERSITY OF [email protected], [email protected]
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE INFUTURE2009: “DIGITAL RESOURCES AND KNOWLEDGE SHARING”
Open Source in Art: Originality, Art Process and
Digital Preservation
Contents
Introduction
Open Source Artwork
Art Tendencies in Open Source Environment
New Challenges of Communicating and
Preserving Digital Art
Conclusion
Discussion
Introduction – the Material
Introduction – Open Source
Art entering the digital era
Open source as a principle dictates complete
access to software source code
Implementing open source - free usage of
tools necessary for digital artistic production
Public colaboration
Resulting work available for free
Introduction – Open Source Implementation
Art which uses digital technologies as a tool Open source modifying artwork production
Art which uses digital technology as a medium Open source radically changing some of the basic
categories of artwork, such as autorship and originality
Two levels of influence > Elephants Dream animated movie
New approach to digital art classification?
Open Source Artwork
What does the open source approach to artwork mean for the observer (visitor, viewer)? observer – author relation
Elephants Dream > observer creating a new original
Glyphiti project > observer intervening in the same original made by the initiating author
Open Source Artwork
Glyphiti – Andy Deck, started in 2001.
Insert from June 2008.
Instead of looking at an image – watching a live image
“…if you don’t like the options given to you, please revise the source code. Copy it. Steal it. Share it. Print it. Pretend it’s yours. I don’t care”
Open Source Artwork – Roles and Actions
Open
source p
roject
Open
source p
roject
Active observers / usersActive observers / users (Passive) observers (Passive) observers
CoauthorsCoauthors
Initiator(s)
Open Source Artwork - Example
A scene from Elephants Dream animated movie, 2006. It showed that Blender and other open source tools can match visual quality with the commercial solutions in the field of 3D animation.
Art Tendencies in Open Source Environment
During the twentieth century artwork has in many different ways transformed into an art process Performance or happening – immanent temporal dimension Jean Tinguely – limited time duration of sculptures
Homage to New York (1960.)
Study for an End of the World No. 2 (1962.)
Art Tendencies in Open Source Environment
Because of the open source availability the image is subject to constant modifications
Theoretically, the open source art process available on the internet does not have to end
Process is not dependent upon the natural limitations of the author, performer or observer
Form that changes context independent of the actions of the original author? The elements of a digital artwork that are originally
used in creation of one artwork, or even a whole artwork itself, can be found in another artwork of a completely different character
Art Tendencies in Open Source Environment
Open source art process can outlive a period of certain style domination
From a historical view, a unique artwork could span across several different periods
A public work can also be used in a work of commercial or private function, if the license allows it
Commercial artists contributing the open source movement – Joshua Davis
Art Tendencies in Open Source Environment
The strength of the open source idea has also affected the content of artworks
Narrative specifics and open ending of “Elephants Dream”
Open source concept by itself is politically and economically provocative Contemporary art is often occupied by these topics CarnivorePE project by Alex Galloway and the RSG group
instead of collecting information about suspects, CarnivorePE is transforming electronic information into vibrant images and sound, generating art instead of incriminating evidence
New Challenges of Communicating and Preserving Digital Art
From white cube model to a wired cube approachSpecifics of open source art have to be
considered when dealing with questions of its preservation and communication in a museological sense
Communication outside institutional channelsOpen source blurring the boundry between
authors and curators Institutions solving problems of digital art
conservation – Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
New Challenges of Communicating and Preserving Digital Art
Open source art process is endangered by outdating of software and hardware environment it is made on
Four methods of solving this problem: Documentation (screen captures, artist diagrams,
installation in structions and statements) Migration (updating work to accommodate newer
technology and file formats) Emulation (running projects through additional software
that allows them to work on newer hardware) Recreation (remaking the artwork for a new technical
environment)
For open source art communication between authors collaborating on the development of an idea is equally important as the communication between the author, his work and the observer Code should have a modular structure – easily read and applied Code should not be procedural, but object oriented
The main principle of preserving the original open source art process should contain the requirement of preserving the availability of its code to the public so it can continue to live on that level
OSMOSA – an open source museum of open source art
New Challenges of Communicating and Preserving Digital Art
Conclusion
Open source art has included public into the act of creation more than it was the case ever in the history of art
The redefined term of the original not only does not stream towards uniqueness (as is the case with the rest of digital art), but also invokes and provokes multiplications and its own usage in realization of other visions and ideas
The prerequisites have been set for creation of a public work of art that is formed by public itself – an art made by man himself, not just one man