Simon G Penny | University of California, Irvine (original) (raw)
Papers by Simon G Penny
Routledge eBooks, Mar 6, 2024
Cambridge University Press eBooks, Dec 31, 2022
Constructivist Foundations, 2021
Fibreculture journal, 2008
This paper is concerned with the nature of traditions of Arts practice with respect to computatio... more This paper is concerned with the nature of traditions of Arts practice with respect to computational practices and related value systems. At root, it concerns the relationship between the specificities of embodied materiality and aspirations to universality inherent in symbolic abstraction. This tension structures the contemporary academy, where embodied arts practices interface with traditions of logical, numerical and textual abstraction in the humanities and the sciences. The hardware/software binarism itself, and all that it entails, is nothing if not an implementation of the Cartesian dual. Inasmuch as these technologies reify that worldview, these values permeate their very fabric. Social and cultural practices, modes of production and consumption, inasmuch as they are situated and embodied, proclaim validities of specificity, situation and embodiment contrary to this order. Due to the economic and rhetorical force of the computer, the academic and popular discourses related to it, are persuasive. Where computational technologies are engaged by social and cultural practices, there exists an implicit but fundamental theoretical crisis. An artist, engaging such technologies in the realization of a work, invites the very real possibility that the technology, like the Trojan Horse, introduces values inimical to the basic qualities for which the artist strives. The very process of engaging the technology quite possibly undermines the qualities the work strives for. This situation demands the development of a 'critical technical practice' (Agre). This paper seeks to elaborate on this basic thesis. It is written from the perspective, not of the antagonistic luddite, but from that of a dedicated practitioner with twenty five years experience in the design and development of custom electronic and digital artworks. Note and Disclaimer: This paper, inevitably, focuses on issues which arise as a result of the peculiarities of western cultural and technical history, and reflects discourses conducted in the English language. As discussed, some of the forces influencing those historical flows relate to the traditions of western philosophy, itself strongly influenced by Christian doctrine. The question of what form automated computation might have taken if it had arisen in a culture with different religious and philosophical history is a fascinating one. Likewise, the way that such a culture might negotiate the relation between technology and culture might be very different from that which has occurred in the West, and might offer important and useful qualities.
Cambridge University Press eBooks, Dec 31, 2022
Constructivist Foundations, 2021
Continuum: Journal of Media & Cultural Studies, 1994
The MIT Press eBooks, Nov 2, 2012
Presses universitaires de Paris Nanterre eBooks, 2021
Digital Creativity, Sep 1, 2010
This essay begins with discussion of four relatively recent works which are representative of maj... more This essay begins with discussion of four relatively recent works which are representative of major themes and preoccupations in Artificial Life Art: 'Propagaciones' by Leo Nuñez; 'Sniff' by Karolina Sobecka and Jim George; 'Universal Whistling Machine' by Marc Boehlen; and 'Performative Ecologies' by Ruari Glynn. This essay is an attempt to contextualise these works by providing an overview of the history and forms of Artificial Life Art as it has developed over two decades, along with some background in the ideas of the Artificial Life movement of the late 1980s and 1990s. 1
Art Journal, Sep 1, 1997
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, a... more JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact
DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals), 2008
This paper is concerned with the nature of traditions of Arts practice with respect to computatio... more This paper is concerned with the nature of traditions of Arts practice with respect to computational practices and related value systems. At root, it concerns the relationship between the specificities of embodied materiality and aspirations to universality inherent in symbolic abstraction. This tension structures the contemporary academy, where embodied arts practices interface with traditions of logical, numerical and textual abstraction in the humanities and the sciences. The hardware/software binarism itself, and all that it entails, is nothing if not an implementation of the Cartesian dual. Inasmuch as these technologies reify that worldview, these values permeate their very fabric. Social and cultural practices, modes of production and consumption, inasmuch as they are situated and embodied, proclaim validities of specificity, situation and embodiment contrary to this order. Due to the economic and rhetorical force of the computer, the academic and popular discourses related to it, are persuasive. Where computational technologies are engaged by social and cultural practices, there exists an implicit but fundamental theoretical crisis. An artist, engaging such technologies in the realization of a work, invites the very real possibility that the technology, like the Trojan Horse, introduces values inimical to the basic qualities for which the artist strives. The very process of engaging the technology quite possibly undermines the qualities the work strives for. This situation demands the development of a 'critical technical practice' (Agre). This paper seeks to elaborate on this basic thesis. It is written from the perspective, not of the antagonistic luddite, but from that of a dedicated practitioner with twenty five years experience in the design and development of custom electronic and digital artworks. Note and Disclaimer: This paper, inevitably, focuses on issues which arise as a result of the peculiarities of western cultural and technical history, and reflects discourses conducted in the English language. As discussed, some of the forces influencing those historical flows relate to the traditions of western philosophy, itself strongly influenced by Christian doctrine. The question of what form automated computation might have taken if it had arisen in a culture with different religious and philosophical history is a fascinating one. Likewise, the way that such a culture might negotiate the relation between technology and culture might be very different from that which has occurred in the West, and might offer important and useful qualities.
ABSTRACT Research papers available on the World Wide Web (WWW or Web) are often poorly organized,... more ABSTRACT Research papers available on the World Wide Web (WWW or Web) are often poorly organized, often exist in forms opaque to search engines (e.g. Postscript), and increase in quantity daily. Significant amounts of time and effort are typically needed ...
Art Journal, 1997
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, a... more JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact
Craft research, Sep 1, 2020
It was not until the late 1980s that the term 'Artificial Life' arose as a descriptor of a range ... more It was not until the late 1980s that the term 'Artificial Life' arose as a descriptor of a range of (mostly) computer based research practices which sought alternatives to conventional Artificial Intelligence methods as a source of (quasi-) intelligent behavior in technological systems and artifacts. These practices included reactive and bottom-up robotics, computational systems which simulated evolutionary and genetic processes, and are range of other activities informed by biology and complexity theory. A general desire was to capture, harness or simulate the generative and 'emergent' qualities of 'nature'-of evolution, co-evolution and adaptation. 'Emergence' was a keyword in the discourse. Two decades later, the discourses of Artificial Life continues to have intellectual force, mystique and generative quality within the 'computers and art' community. This essay is an attempt to contextualise Artificial Life Art by providing an historical overview, and by providing background in the ideas which helped to form the Artificial Life movement in the late 1980s and early 1990s. This essay is prompted by the exhibition Emergence-Art and Artificial Life (Beall Center for Art and Technology, UCI, December 2009) which is a testament to the enduring and inspirational intellectual significance of ideas associated with Artificial Life.
Routledge eBooks, Mar 6, 2024
Cambridge University Press eBooks, Dec 31, 2022
Constructivist Foundations, 2021
Fibreculture journal, 2008
This paper is concerned with the nature of traditions of Arts practice with respect to computatio... more This paper is concerned with the nature of traditions of Arts practice with respect to computational practices and related value systems. At root, it concerns the relationship between the specificities of embodied materiality and aspirations to universality inherent in symbolic abstraction. This tension structures the contemporary academy, where embodied arts practices interface with traditions of logical, numerical and textual abstraction in the humanities and the sciences. The hardware/software binarism itself, and all that it entails, is nothing if not an implementation of the Cartesian dual. Inasmuch as these technologies reify that worldview, these values permeate their very fabric. Social and cultural practices, modes of production and consumption, inasmuch as they are situated and embodied, proclaim validities of specificity, situation and embodiment contrary to this order. Due to the economic and rhetorical force of the computer, the academic and popular discourses related to it, are persuasive. Where computational technologies are engaged by social and cultural practices, there exists an implicit but fundamental theoretical crisis. An artist, engaging such technologies in the realization of a work, invites the very real possibility that the technology, like the Trojan Horse, introduces values inimical to the basic qualities for which the artist strives. The very process of engaging the technology quite possibly undermines the qualities the work strives for. This situation demands the development of a 'critical technical practice' (Agre). This paper seeks to elaborate on this basic thesis. It is written from the perspective, not of the antagonistic luddite, but from that of a dedicated practitioner with twenty five years experience in the design and development of custom electronic and digital artworks. Note and Disclaimer: This paper, inevitably, focuses on issues which arise as a result of the peculiarities of western cultural and technical history, and reflects discourses conducted in the English language. As discussed, some of the forces influencing those historical flows relate to the traditions of western philosophy, itself strongly influenced by Christian doctrine. The question of what form automated computation might have taken if it had arisen in a culture with different religious and philosophical history is a fascinating one. Likewise, the way that such a culture might negotiate the relation between technology and culture might be very different from that which has occurred in the West, and might offer important and useful qualities.
Cambridge University Press eBooks, Dec 31, 2022
Constructivist Foundations, 2021
Continuum: Journal of Media & Cultural Studies, 1994
The MIT Press eBooks, Nov 2, 2012
Presses universitaires de Paris Nanterre eBooks, 2021
Digital Creativity, Sep 1, 2010
This essay begins with discussion of four relatively recent works which are representative of maj... more This essay begins with discussion of four relatively recent works which are representative of major themes and preoccupations in Artificial Life Art: 'Propagaciones' by Leo Nuñez; 'Sniff' by Karolina Sobecka and Jim George; 'Universal Whistling Machine' by Marc Boehlen; and 'Performative Ecologies' by Ruari Glynn. This essay is an attempt to contextualise these works by providing an overview of the history and forms of Artificial Life Art as it has developed over two decades, along with some background in the ideas of the Artificial Life movement of the late 1980s and 1990s. 1
Art Journal, Sep 1, 1997
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, a... more JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact
DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals), 2008
This paper is concerned with the nature of traditions of Arts practice with respect to computatio... more This paper is concerned with the nature of traditions of Arts practice with respect to computational practices and related value systems. At root, it concerns the relationship between the specificities of embodied materiality and aspirations to universality inherent in symbolic abstraction. This tension structures the contemporary academy, where embodied arts practices interface with traditions of logical, numerical and textual abstraction in the humanities and the sciences. The hardware/software binarism itself, and all that it entails, is nothing if not an implementation of the Cartesian dual. Inasmuch as these technologies reify that worldview, these values permeate their very fabric. Social and cultural practices, modes of production and consumption, inasmuch as they are situated and embodied, proclaim validities of specificity, situation and embodiment contrary to this order. Due to the economic and rhetorical force of the computer, the academic and popular discourses related to it, are persuasive. Where computational technologies are engaged by social and cultural practices, there exists an implicit but fundamental theoretical crisis. An artist, engaging such technologies in the realization of a work, invites the very real possibility that the technology, like the Trojan Horse, introduces values inimical to the basic qualities for which the artist strives. The very process of engaging the technology quite possibly undermines the qualities the work strives for. This situation demands the development of a 'critical technical practice' (Agre). This paper seeks to elaborate on this basic thesis. It is written from the perspective, not of the antagonistic luddite, but from that of a dedicated practitioner with twenty five years experience in the design and development of custom electronic and digital artworks. Note and Disclaimer: This paper, inevitably, focuses on issues which arise as a result of the peculiarities of western cultural and technical history, and reflects discourses conducted in the English language. As discussed, some of the forces influencing those historical flows relate to the traditions of western philosophy, itself strongly influenced by Christian doctrine. The question of what form automated computation might have taken if it had arisen in a culture with different religious and philosophical history is a fascinating one. Likewise, the way that such a culture might negotiate the relation between technology and culture might be very different from that which has occurred in the West, and might offer important and useful qualities.
ABSTRACT Research papers available on the World Wide Web (WWW or Web) are often poorly organized,... more ABSTRACT Research papers available on the World Wide Web (WWW or Web) are often poorly organized, often exist in forms opaque to search engines (e.g. Postscript), and increase in quantity daily. Significant amounts of time and effort are typically needed ...
Art Journal, 1997
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, a... more JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact
Craft research, Sep 1, 2020
It was not until the late 1980s that the term 'Artificial Life' arose as a descriptor of a range ... more It was not until the late 1980s that the term 'Artificial Life' arose as a descriptor of a range of (mostly) computer based research practices which sought alternatives to conventional Artificial Intelligence methods as a source of (quasi-) intelligent behavior in technological systems and artifacts. These practices included reactive and bottom-up robotics, computational systems which simulated evolutionary and genetic processes, and are range of other activities informed by biology and complexity theory. A general desire was to capture, harness or simulate the generative and 'emergent' qualities of 'nature'-of evolution, co-evolution and adaptation. 'Emergence' was a keyword in the discourse. Two decades later, the discourses of Artificial Life continues to have intellectual force, mystique and generative quality within the 'computers and art' community. This essay is an attempt to contextualise Artificial Life Art by providing an historical overview, and by providing background in the ideas which helped to form the Artificial Life movement in the late 1980s and early 1990s. This essay is prompted by the exhibition Emergence-Art and Artificial Life (Beall Center for Art and Technology, UCI, December 2009) which is a testament to the enduring and inspirational intellectual significance of ideas associated with Artificial Life.