A shared interest in emergence

A shared interest of the artists in this grouping is to use arts practice to explore ideas related to the concept of emergence, in particular processes that can produce spontaneous organisation and ordering. Writers such as Cariani (1991), Penny (1996) and Delanda (2006) describe the idea of emergence as

referring to how a variety of interactions between processes can lead to the production of new structures, functions, and patterns that cannot be reduced to the properties of pre-existing ones. Commonly known examples of emergent structures include ripple patterns found in sand dunes, weather phenomena such as hurricanes and tornados, the production of termite mounds by a termite colony, the swarming patterns of bees, shoals of fish, flocks of birds, and in herding and pack formations of mammals. The concept of emergence can also, Delanda (2006) argues, account for the development of social, economic, and technological systems, as well as natural phenomena.

An aim for artists in this grouping is to set up artworks in ways that might produce emergent behaviour. A characteristic of the approach of artists in this grouping is that they conceive of artworks not as objects but as sets of dynamic relationships. They conceive of the artwork in terms of interconnected

processes that may lead to new patterns, structures and events that cannot be predetermined and which are irreducible to earlier states. This conception of the artwork provides the fundamental theoretical basis for the experimental framework which is developed to guide the new work, and which is discussed in later chapters. The group draws upon insights from an area of research known as Artificial Life (ALife) to help develop techniques that model emergent phenomena, such as insect swarming, the flocking of birds and the evolution of ecological systems. Penny (1996) describes the basis of ALife systems as consisting of a large population of elementary units which interact with each other in an environment with no central control, and these

interactions give rise to emergent phenomena. A well-known work from this

field is Boids (1986) by Mark Reynolds, which is recognised as an exemplar of the basic composition of an ALife system.

Fig. 13 Mark Reynolds, Boids (1986), still image

In the work Boids (1986) Reynolds seeks to set up the conditions to explore the emergent phenomena associated with the flocking behaviour of birds. He uses a computer programme to set constraints to guide but not to predetermine the behaviour of a population of birdlike forms. These forms (Boids) used to represent the birds are simplistic, a kind of irregular triangle motif. The work is not concerned with representing what a bird looks like, but rather focuses on the relations between birds, how they move and interact. What is compelling about encountering the work is that the relentless movement and ceaselessly changing position of the Boids, which model the flocking patterns of birds, is not a representation of this process but an actual, real example of emergent phenomena. If obstacles are present the Boids spontaneously avoid these by separating into new groups and then autonomously reform into a larger flock,

and as a consequence the Boids are perceived as flying as a coherent group.

All of these processes, Sipper (1995) states, occur according to a set of basic rules but without central control. On encountering the work one glimpses sets of dynamic relations and irreducible connections unfolding in real-time. This acts akin to O’Sullivan’s idea of the encounter, and it is disturbing and

sensational. It is difficult to come to terms with what is happening and as a consequence there is a sense that during this encounter one is genuinely experiencing the world differently as the work reveals a systemic view, which is quite different from what we are typically accustomed to.

Another example of applying the principles from ALife research towards the generation of new artworks is Ima Traveller (1996) by Maria Verstappen and Erwin Driessens.

Fig. 14. Maria Verstappen and Erwin Driessens, Ima Traveller (1996)

Ima Traveller (1996) is an interactive work designed for the viewer to experience and participate in a journey through a colour space that is created and travelled through in real time. The viewer uses a computer mouse to position the cursor above a field of coloured pixels, and the position of the cursor sets in motion the generation of new pixels, which interact with other pixels to generate further constellations of pixels. The experience of the unfolding work is akin to travelling forwards through a deep colour space.

Unlike Boids (1986) there are no representational forms; the unfolding of the work and generation of the fields of colour are entirely reliant on interaction to generate new pixels that create the unforeseen territories and constellations of colours.

Fig. 15. Maria Verstappen and Erwin Driessens, Ima Traveller (1996)¹

Verstappen and Driessens stress the importance of creating immersive and interactive works that foreground kinaesthetic experience. The effect on the

1 Still from the exhibition, Blip, University of Brighton, 2004. Photograph by James Fry.

viewer is one of encountering a ceaselessly unfolding and infinite universe; it is a process of constant unpredictable becoming. On encountering the work one becomes aware that constant movement and perpetual change are the norm;

there is no stasis, and no return, as the colour constellations are ceaselessly shaped and transformed by new events. Ima Traveller (1996) creates unfolding relational processes that can be understood as akin to the unpredictable and ceaseless reality of life.

A further example of applying the principles from ALife research is Sky Ear (2004) by Usman Haque. Haque’s artwork is orchestrated so that interactions and relations between a range of technologies, software, programming and the environment result in the unfolding of the work. The work investigates electromagnetic fields that are usually imperceptible in our surrounding environment. Haque’s aim is to use the work to make the phenomena visible and audible. Sky Ear consists of one thousand helium balloons held in a flexible carbon fibre membrane.

Fig. 16. Usman Haque, Sky Ear (2004)

The ear, thirty metres in length, floats up to one hundred metres in the sky.

Each balloon contains a sensor circuit that is responsive to electromagnetic fields. When the ear encounters electromagnetic activity, such as that which is present naturally or caused by mobile phone calls, the circuit causes LEDs to illuminate. Consequently, as the ear floats in the sky it is seen to flicker and pulse in response to the electromagnetic phenomena it encounters. Viewers are also able to use mobile phones to call in to the ear and listen to the sounds produced by the electromagnetic fields. The phone calls themselves act as new disturbances to the existing fields thus causing changes in the illumination of the balloons. Haque’s work interacts with its surroundings, incorporates feedback from the participation of the viewers, to act as a relational mapping system that makes visible unseen natural phenomena.