Artificial life: science and computer technology in contemporary art

The article is devoted to artistic practices that appear on the intersection of science, computer technologyand contemporary art. In the first chapter Artificial life research field author gives a review of theory and methodology of artificial life(AL) in mathematics (C.Langton and Santa Fe Institute). Scientific interpretations of life define it as a material biological process andlive organisms are presented as biochemical machines with observable behaviour. Life emerges out of multiple interactions on the micro-level in the form of more complex structures, which later become parts of the macro-level complexity. The second chapterR.Dawkinss Biomorphs: bridging art and science contains a description of experiments conducted by a well known biologistR.Dawkins, who designed one of the first computer models of evolution as a purposeless process of growing complexity. In his book,The Blind Watchmaker (1986), professor Dawkins also describes how he came up with biomorphic graphic creatures in his model.The next chapter Art and life: a technological mimesis? is devoted to aesthetic interpretations of life from early mimetic tradition tillmodernism and cybernetic art of 1960s. The earliest case of how the term artificial life was systematically introduced and used inaesthetic theory and art history is discussed (works of J. Burnham from 1970s). It is demonstrated that mimetic and modernist artistictraditions share common interest in making life and art as close as it is possible. In the fourth chapter Pioneers of AL-art the authoranalyses first artistic experiments based on AL methodology: W. Lathams virtual sculptures and K. Simss evolutionary ecosystemswith animates. William Latham develops further R. Dowkinss ideas and designs a computer program that imitates creative process asan analogy to biological evolution. As a result, we see endlessly breeding virtual sculptures and the evolution tree keeps growing. InKarl Simss art works we find complex ecosystems of artificial organisms living and growing in the virtual graphic world. Their evolutiondepends on the viewer's choice or internal selection mechanisms, based on software and algorithms. There is no citation or anyreference to well known art works or artistic traditions. The final fifth chapter Development of AL-art discusses different directions incontemporary AL based art practices. The author concludes that convergence of scientific ideas and artistic practices help us to approachnew fundamental problems of understanding living systems. Art provides a broader conceptual horizon for science and science gives anew source of inspiration for artists: aesthetics creates a new cultural value through concepts and creative artistic process becomes anautonomous evolutionary mechanism; instead of art work in a sense we always think of it, there are artificial live objects with biomorphicfeatures and behaviour.

Keywords

Authors

References