HSE 03, Nov. 21, 2021

summary

1. Umberto Eco's The Open Work and a pragmatic aesthetic theory
2. algorithmic openness
3. openness and society

conclusions, discussion

openness in your works

photo by Camille Blake

Eco, U. (1989). The open work. Harvard University Press.

some points from chapters 1-4 of The Open Work

- eco's open work: normative poetics, aesthetics, and a pragmatic aesthetic theory

1. aesthetics vs. poetics

(chapter 1, poetics of the open work, p. 22) “We have to distinguish between the theoretical level of aesthetics as a philosophical discipline which attempts to formulate definitions and the practical level of poetics as programmatic projects for creation.”

1. pragmatic aesthetic theory
2. normative thought

- visual openness (superficial?)

• on-stage
• projection: coding, data
• versus an anonymous perfomer in a dj booth

- openness of algorithms

some definitions of algorithm define it as needing a well-formed conclusion; we'll do away with that, or define it as “to be run until the user no longer wishes to run it”

• showing algorithms (functions, function names, function calls)

• data transparency
• a stack of algorithms, the problem of deep openness

software stack diagram, adapted from: https://searchapparchitecture.techtarget.com/definition/software-stack

• how to increase openness
  • work with Joana Chicau https://geometries.xyz/

• an attitude toward collaboration
• tools to enable that collaboration
• a presentation which reflects the attitude and the tooling

• open source

• freedoms:
  • Free Software Foundation definition of free software: https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.en.html#fs-definition
    1. The freedom to run the program as you wish, for any purpose (freedom 0).
    2. The freedom to study how the program works, and change it so it does your computing as you wish (freedom 1). Access to the source code is a precondition for this.
    3. The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help others (freedom 2).
    4. The freedom to distribute copies of your modified versions to others (freedom 3). By doing this you can give the whole community a chance to benefit from your changes. Access to the source code is a precondition for this.

1. need for an openness in society
2. society is increasingly mediated by algorithms
3. problems caused by a lack of transparency
4. ignorance of algorithms means ignorance of the basic relations of society
5. ignorance of algorithms leads to a sense of powerlessness
6. what new relationships does open algorithmic art expose or suggest
7. by exposing algorithms and showing how they can be beautiful, the understandability and tractability of algorithms shows new possibilities to an audience: “i could do this,” “i could control an algorithm,” and therefore shows possibility of agency that wasn't previously held for non-programmers
8. even for programmers, the repurposing of the algorithmic tools for art also shows new possibilities
9. foregrounding the algorithm then emphasizes these possibilities

- open to what?

1. open means free to possibility
2. open to the existence of others with you
3. acknowledging them, and treating them as you would like to be treated
4. willingness to be connected
5. willingness to share
6. acceptance of the need to cooperate
7. relinquishment, surrender
8. becoming altruistic

1. george clinton, funkadelic “free your mind and your ass will follow, for the kingdom of heaven is within.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9g-bw49ZwI

alchemy of transforming closed things into open ones: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnum_opus_(alchemy)

paradox: how can a rational algorithmic system which encapsulates logical concepts lead to radical intuitive open connection? it's the ineffable paradox of duality expressed in the tao te ching: accepting limits in order to be limitless openness, receptiveness, “know the male yet keep to the female”