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Processing: Creative Coding and Computational Art

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l<strong>and</strong>fill/), <strong>and</strong> Feed (www.potatol<strong>and</strong>.org/feed/). These projects, while technically<br />

sophisticated <strong>and</strong> finely crafted, purposefully revealed the limitations, political implications,<br />

<strong>and</strong> chaos of the Web. Shredder is an alternate browser that constructs web pages,<br />

not as ordered predictable pages, but in Napier’s words, “as a chaotic, irrational, raucous<br />

collage.” Besides the implicit politics <strong>and</strong> software engineering in pieces like Shredder <strong>and</strong><br />

another browser he developed called riot, one perceives an interest in the visual. These<br />

algorithmically-generated pieces are chaotic—at times boisterous, but always aesthetically<br />

engaging, informed by a trained painter’s eye. It is these opposing forces of the raw <strong>and</strong><br />

the refined that give Napier’s pieces their distinctive energy <strong>and</strong> appeal. Napier’s work is in<br />

numerous major collections, including the Guggenheim in New York. He’s also had work<br />

commissioned by both the Whitney Museum of American <strong>Art</strong> <strong>and</strong> the San Francisco<br />

Museum of Modern <strong>Art</strong>. His work has been shown widely, including at the Whitney<br />

Biennial (2001), Ars Electronica, the Kitchen, ZKM net_condition, the Walker’s AEN show,<br />

<strong>and</strong> many other venues <strong>and</strong> festivals around the world. Additional information, images,<br />

<strong>and</strong> code can be found on Napier’s personal site, http://potatol<strong>and</strong>.org/.<br />

John F. Simon Jr., b. 1963<br />

John Simon combines a highly refined visual aesthetic with industrial grade coding skills.<br />

He graduated from Brown in 1985 with degrees in studio art <strong>and</strong> geology, <strong>and</strong> then<br />

received two more advanced degrees in earth <strong>and</strong> planetary science from Washington<br />

University in St. Louis, <strong>and</strong> an MFA in computer art from the School of Visual <strong>Art</strong>s in New<br />

York. His dual interests in analytical systems <strong>and</strong> aesthetics is almost always apparent in his<br />

work. For example, in his “art appliances” software <strong>and</strong> LCD panels, 1998–2004, Simon sets<br />

up algorithmically-based, complex software systems that examine abstraction vs. realism,<br />

color theory, viewer perception, <strong>and</strong> other traditional painting concerns. The work often<br />

has art historical connections <strong>and</strong> references (e.g., to Bauhaus, Klee, K<strong>and</strong>insky, Mondrian,<br />

<strong>and</strong> Lewitt). Beyond Simon’s impressive software engineering skills <strong>and</strong> art historical<br />

knowledge is a subtle, often poetic, aesthetic sensibility; many of his pieces are beautiful<br />

objects. The work, both in concept <strong>and</strong> execution, is precise <strong>and</strong> economical. Simon<br />

extends his work from the Web to h<strong>and</strong>held devices to wall-mounted integrated hardware/software<br />

systems that he builds. He also produces software-driven laser-cut Plexiglas<br />

objects. Simon is redefining how artists exist in the marketplace, pioneering the sale of<br />

affordable works of art directly from his site, at http://numeral.com/.<br />

John Maeda, b. 1966<br />

John Maeda is currently the E. Rudge <strong>and</strong> Nancy Allen Professor of Media <strong>Art</strong>s <strong>and</strong><br />

Sciences at MIT. He is also one of the most well-known designers <strong>and</strong> digital arts pioneers<br />

in the world, awarded in 2001 both the US <strong>and</strong> Japan’s top design career honor: the<br />

National Design Award <strong>and</strong> the Mainichi Design Prize—not bad for someone who recently<br />

turned 40. Maeda’s work <strong>and</strong> teaching have had a profound impact on the digital design<br />

l<strong>and</strong>scape <strong>and</strong>, perhaps more than anyone else, Maeda has influenced the present generation<br />

of code artists. Between 1996 <strong>and</strong> 2003, he directed the Aesthetics + Computation<br />

Group (ACG) at MIT, which conducted research into the application of computer code <strong>and</strong><br />

computation as a primary creative medium. A number of Maeda’s students have become<br />

leading designers/artists <strong>and</strong> (creative) technologists, including Golan Levin, Jared<br />

CODE ART<br />

19<br />

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