[ISEA2022] Paper: Marta Pérez-Campos — The Process of Word Automation: From the Spoken Word to the Algorithm

Abstract

Full Paper. Session: Educations and Societies / Vernacular creativity and reflective practices

Keywords: Algorithms, language, code poetry, artistic research, education

This paper delves into algorithms and the link between them and the art world as an education tool. The main characteristics of algorithms and the devices which first ran them are put in relation to artistic practices and will serve as the basis for the development of new artistic projects.

In this paper, I will trace a path in which the starting point will be the spoken word, made immortal through writing, and which will lead to the consideration of the word as the fundamental constituent part of today’s algorithms. This analysis will be carried out without losing sight of the fact that we are within an artistic research, in which it is necessary to deal with concepts that belong to other disciplines such as linguistics or computer science. The process of transcription will be the thread that connects the spoken word with the written word, allowing me to analyze how this transcription and its intrinsic characteristics have been used in areas as disparate as the world of art and the development of programming languages.

Subsequently, I will analyze the creation and evolution of the idea of algorithm –from its beginnings centuries before the creation of the first computers– and the link between them and the world of art, through the presentation of works that propose the use of pseudo-algorithms. It will be the algorithms that will allow me to talk about digital computers and how the technology behind them has served as a source of inspiration for contemporary artists.

  • Marta Pérez-Campos (Zaragoza, Spain) is PhD candidate at the UPV/EHU University of Basque Country and Master Interface Culture at the Kunstuniversität Linz. Her great interest in language and communication has led her to focus her current research on our relationship with and through technological devices and to approach some technological processes from an artistic perspective. https://martapcampos.com