While browsing for essays on the intersection of art and technology, I came upon this course website. Going through the syllabus and schedule, I found the topics interesting as it paralleled discussions of data-based art while introducing programming. It’s interesting to to think about what advantages technology affords us, in both art and in general. And in this case, the emphasis lies on its ability to work and store data.

The course emphasizes the importance of data and memory, as it is the artifact which continues on. One of the powers of computers is the ability to retain large quantities of information, and making it easy accessible. The course website seemed a bit dated with its emphasis on PHP and MySQL but the concept carries. Tying back to the class, this would fall under the category of information visualization and representation.

Some data-driven media art examples were provided:
http://www.theyrule.net/2004/tr2.php – interesting data visualization
http://www.manovich.net/cinema_future/toc.htm – videos put together by an algorithm
http://parole.aporee.org/ – a dynamic dictionary of a contemporary city

Perhaps these weren’t the most interesting projects I found but it got me to step back for a second to think how all the tools that we have today change the art we make. With access to computers and software, we have new ways to present ideas. In addition to access to information, technology allows for interaction, computation, and also an ability to activate physical spaces.