GMU:Dataflow I WS12/Jeremy

Hugo Ball at the Cabaret Voltaire, Zurich, 1916 photographer unknown

"I took this course because I liked the name of it. The idea of data, flowing, unobstructed, to my own designs. It was a nice idea for me. I didn't even bother to think of what that data might be ..."

My Project

background

Immediately after learning the basics of how Pure Data works I was slightly worried because it seemed that the things which I was interested in, were not the things that Pure Data was typically used for. I shared these thoughts with someone, saying:

"I just don't think I'm using Pure Data in the right way,"

to which they said:

"There is no right way to use it ... it doesn't even care what it's being used for ... how can it know? Pure Data can be used for anything."

This was reassuring for me.

From the very beginning I wanted to use PD to perform some kind of human function, to reveal some form of judgement or thought process which would speak about its own inability to do so. And so I wanted to create some kind of patch that would interest itself in the nature of computer programming, while also displaying some level of critical self awareness.

the image

I decided to pursue the idea of a dadaist art review. I was thinking about the ways in which the Dadaists used the idea of automatic and chance-based occurances in order to remove or at least diffuse their own artistic control and intention over an artwork.

This led me to the idea that images could be an interesting starting point, and that I could use PD to perform some kind of human (albeit dadaist) function and that this 'performance' would vary in accordance with the image used.

Results

On the death of his child

And dry my dreaming but still ...

Insatiable fleas

Women planting rice

Drawn up from my frozen well ...

Weird hollow echo

Issa stepchild bird

Dew evaporates and all our world is dew ...

Black cloudbank broken

But their ancient song

Flip-flapping across the sky

Wild geese write a line