course
description

The class aims to merge three different universes: code, literature, and machine learning. We will descend into this Bermuda Triangle of disciplines with a poetic, speculative, and conceptual approach, as well as a technical perspective.

What is the difference between writing with code and writing with text? Is code a new material? What is electronic literature and code poetry? How far the-rabbit-hole can computers take us?

At the beginning of our voyage, we will gain a poetic perspective on how to write code by submerging ourselves into the technical and speculative aspects of creative programming. We will then explore the conceptual cornerstones to think about literary texts as perception distorting machines. And finally, we will dwell into the dark territory of pre-trained Machine Learning models to enhance our imagination and generate new forms of writing textual organisms.

In summary, this poetic interpretation of computational logic in creative coding and machine learning will allow us to review concepts and engage with tools to convey new meanings to our writing experiences.

In this course, you will be introduced to:

Web-friendly platforms like p5.js, ml5.js, and Github. We will also address basic programming concepts, web-based interaction, JavaScript snippets, Python snippets, code poetry, electronic literature, and pre-trained machine learning models.

After this month-long program, each participant will have a wide array of concepts and techniques to continue exploring poetic code writing with machine learning alongside their own digital art practice.

Each class will consist of two parts:

Part 1: We will conceptually review a topic while also analyze art pieces that focus on that subject. We will explore and discuss methods, perspectives, and approaches to gather information and inspiration for our work.

Part 2: We will discuss reading material and review code exercises to emulate and transform the art pieces observed into our own project development.

course outline

Week 1: A moment to get to know each other

To imagine, reflect, and find poetry in our surroundings, it's essential to take a moment for bonding beyond the screen and break the neverending wheel of production, effectiveness, and stress. We will present ourselves as humans exploring the poetic use of technology and think about us as cultural diplomats practicing radical inclusiveness. There will also be discussions regarding expectations of what you hope to gain from the class and an overview of the workspace, materials, and workflow we will need. We will finally introduce a series of concepts to map out the technical territory we will explore.

Week 2: Code as a poetic material and a creative playground.

We will explore an alternate history of code to review different perspectives on computer symbolic manipulation. We will introduce key technical programming language concepts, and develop metaphors to understand the structure of the code snippets we will use. We will also review a variety of code examples and artists to understand what creative programming entails.

Week 3: Literature as a perceptual distortion machine: ostranenie, randomness, indetermination.

Considered as the first work of electronic literature, The Love Letter Generator (1952) used Alan Turing's random number generator to create combinatory love letters. Using the Manchester Mark I computer, Strachey, his author, discovered and implemented combinatory literature's fundamental structures. On the other side of the spectrum, Oulipo, a secret and unconventional group founded in 1960, considered that it was

not randomness or chance, but the controlled combination between mathematics and language where the future of literature was. They called it potential literature. We will approach different theoretical aspects of literary texts, review critical conceptual notions of electronic literature artworks, and develop our own poetic algorithms.

Week 4: Using Machine Learning to build textual organisms.

Conceived as research on recreating the human mind in the 1950s, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning have introduced a set of tools to augment our imagination. While doing so, it has also engaged in a path to disrupt the way we potentially make decisions, build knowledge, and represent the world around us. We'll create a conceptual map to understand language-oriented Machine Learning pre-trained models and how to use them in the context of p5.js. At the same, and while gaining technical skills, we will reflect on the implications of introducing Machine Learning algorithms into our writing practice.

Week 5: Expanding our visual territory and show and tell

We will observe the various visual aspects of code and typography while analyzing historical and contemporary artworks. We will visit artists like Muriel Cooper, Stefanie Posavec, Eduardo Kac, Camille Utterback, etc. We will draw inspiration from their work to think about the different visual possibilities to display our algorithmic writing as interactive texts on the web. In the second half of the class we will share the works we've made in class in a final show and tell.

who is this class for?

This class aims to build a foundation for further artistic development in the areas of electronic literature, code poetry, and creative literary uses of Machine Learning. The course also seeks to build a community of artists, writers, poets, and programmers interested in creative coding, language, and the alternate theoretical approach of code. No experience necessary.

about live classes

Classes are 'live' meaning that you can directly interact with the instructor as well as with the other participants from around the world. Classes will also be recorded for playback in case you are unable to attend for any reason. That said, we kindly ask that you please only purchase a ticket if you plan to attend regularly. For specific questions, please email us and we'll get back to you as soon as we can.

about tickets

Tickets for this class are currently available via Eventbrite. If you would like to avoid Eventbrite fees, please email us for direct payment options. We kindly ask that all “pay-what-you-can” students register through Eventbrite. Due to reduced staffing, we’re unable to handle specific payment requests for these registrations.

about solidarity

We realise we're living in uncertain times. We are a small organisation with no outside funding and like many, we are also in survival mode. During this time, we are offering a limited number of pay-what-you-can solidarity tickets for this online class. Preference is given to women, POC, LGBTQ+ and persons from underrepresented communities in tech who would otherwise be unable to attend. We are greatly appreciative of your understanding and support.

meet the instructor