*I don't enjoy art-coding all that much – not that I don't like it, but it takes a long time to get any good. But, I can imagine myself doing some of these looser, conceptual-art, generative activities. Doing street-art style "wall drawings" with nondestructive chalk or colored masking tape, it seems like a fun way for a couple of friends to spend a weekend.
https://artport.whitney.org/commissions/softwarestructures2016/text.html
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Material
Artists use a wide range of materials to great effect: leather, honey, blood, oil, steel, felt, latex, paper, rubber, plastic, bones, cotton, concrete, glass, ceramics, copper, etc. The choice of material affects the perception of the work and therefore a careful choice is critical to success. Artists working with the software medium also use a wide range of materials: Java, C++, Perl, PHP, BASIC, LISP, PostScript, Python, etc. These software materials are not as familiar to most people as the physical materials mentioned above, but regardless, the choice of programming language greatly affects the perception of a piece of software. Some programming materials allow working quickly, some require intense attention to detail, and all modify the way the programmer thinks about the structure. For this project, one structure was implemented in three different software materials to isolate the similarities and differences between each.
Processing (2001)
Processing was designed for the context of dynamic visual work. It has a carefully designed graphics library for the construction of 2D/3D visual form and color. Processing is written with Java and therefore draws more slowly than Flash and calculates slower than C++. Processing is free and open-source and is therefore extremely accessible. Processing was used as the primary language for the project because it is easily viewable over the Web and the code is fast to write and easy to read.
Flash MX (1996)
Flash is an environment originally developed for efficient Web animation and it has been improving its programming functionality since 1998. It draws much faster than Processing, but calculates much slower. Flash was built for creating 2D graphics and is able to render flat graphics and typography of an extremely high visual quality. Software with hundreds of elements all performing intense calculation (e.g. Software Structure #003) runs so poorly in Flash that the intent of the work is destroyed. A different structure with intense drawing and without excessive calculation would run excellently in Flash.
C++/OpenGL (1979/1992)
C has been an extremely popular language for computer scientists since its origin in 1970. C++ is an object-oriented version developed since 1979. OpenGL is a graphics library originally developed as IRIS GL by Silicon Graphics. Using an OpenGL accelerated graphics card in a computer (the kind used by video game enthusiasts) allows an outstanding resolution and speed in comparison to Processing and Flash. C++ programs using OpenGL are not able to run over the Internet. The speed of C++ gives the software structures a fidelity which far surpasses the structures in Processing and Flash.
Process
Many of us have seen the romantic photographs of Jackson Pollock hunched over the canvas at his studio with a paint can in one hand and a brush in the other. He intently moves across the floor while dripping paint on the canvas as a painting slowly emerges. Through this type of romanticized media imagery, people have glimpsed the process of creating paintings, sculptures, and other traditional arts. The process of creating software is a mysterious practice with few references in popular culture and art discourse. Software is a very fragile material and working within its rigid syntax and structural rules can be very tedious for people who love to directly engage with physical materials....
