The New Craft
Computerized systems are an inseparable part of our lives. They no longer operate according to the human logic of the “language of telling” – the language that formerly constituted the basis of Western culture – but rather the logic of machines, the “language of counting,” based on numerical values. This logic is being implemented both with respect to information – through use of algorithms for identifying patterns and acting on them, and on material phenomena – through identification of the “code” at the basis of the material and control of it.
The exhibition “(id)ea.code++ – Algorithmic Objects”includes works by designers and artists, from Israel and abroad, that deal with creative work which is based on the logic of numbers. The use of coding language in artistic action enables the creation of works having great precision and formal and material complexity, while at the same time it leads to areas that are poetic, unexpected and original in a manner that could not be possible in any other form.
With the entrance of computers into creative fields, the tool-box of designers and artists was greatly expanded. The use of codes expanded the aesthetic language, transformed the action of artists and designers in many senses, and created a new kind of relationship between design processes and manufacturing practices. The influence of creative work in code has become even more significant over the years. The more intelligent machines become, the greater their role in processes that in the past were considered the sole prerogative of man. In the past their role focused primarily on calculations and operational actions, while today they are capable of carrying out complex activities, learning, making decisions, predicting future trends and even being creative themselves.
The exhibition presents a wide spectrum of works that employ code. Both analogue and digital works are presented, including works that view code as a medium and those that ask fundamental questions about the essence of the relationships that are formed in the present age between machines and human beings. The works on exhibit examine the ways in which processes of coding and automation devices of various kinds delineate the cultural space in which we live.