[spectre] Fabrica Workshop: Bruce Sterling

[Redazione Digicult]

Digicult presents:

FABRICA MEETS BRUCE STERLING
"Generative Art and Design: Critical Assessments"
Fabrica Communication Research Center - Treviso
25th-28th November 2008

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Treviso, November 2008. Fabrica, Benetton's communication research centre, 
hosts on 25-28 November a workshop held by futurologist and author Bruce 
Sterling, one of the founders and leading promulgators of cyberpunk sci-fi.

The Sterling workshop theme takes its cue from the concept of generative 
art, i.e. a process which develops with a certain degree of autonomy to 
produce a work of art or design. When generative art is computer-based, 
windows are opened onto otherwise unimaginable fields of human creativity. 
The computer becomes a vehicle for exploring new territories and boosting 
our understanding of creativity as an inseparable synthesis of art and 
science.

In this perspective, Sterling's seminar, entitled "Generative Art and 
Design: Critical Assessments", starts off from the statement of fact that it 
is becoming increasingly easy nowadays to create a software that generates 
fonts, pictures, videos, music and even furniture.

The provocative question to which Sterling and Fabrica's young people will 
try to provide an answer is whether these products have any value or whether 
they are just rubbish, i.e. the meaningless results of a mechanical process. 
And moreover, how important is the designer's creativity, i.e. what is the 
relationship between a generative software creation process - defined by an 
inevitable human component - and the results which that software generates 
completely autonomously?

The workshop will also be enriched by a contribution from Marco Mancuso, 
critic, digital art curator, founder and director of DigiCult project. 
Mancuso will attend the presentation of the workshop's results and offer his 
comments as a conclusion to the proceedings. The essay will be published on 
Fabrica website and the workshop booklet.

The workshop programme is an integral part of Fabrica's long-held tradition 
of intercultural creativity and sensitivity to social and environmental 
issues. Workshops have over the past few months been run by Cameron 
Sinclair, founder of Architecture for Humanity and the World Economic 
Forum's Young Global Leader for 2008; and Kevin Slavin, founder of the 
award-winning New York media and game design firm, Area/Code.

Bruce Sterling was born in Texas in 1954. He debuted on the international 
scene with sci-fi stories, thus helping to establish the cyberpunk movement. 
His writings include short stories, literary reviews, editorials, and 
articles published in leading publications like Wired and MAKE. He is 
considered one of today's leading design futurologists.

More info:

Fabrica Press Office: +39 0422 516349
www.fabrica.it/workshops

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DIGICULT is an Italian cultural project and platform involved in promoting 
and spreading digital art and culture, through the connection between art, 
design, tecnology, science and society. The DIGICULT project is directed by 
Marco Mancuso, from January 2005 and it is based on a Network of 40 
professional people about, who represent the first wide Italian Network of 
journalists, curators, artists and critics in the field of digital art and 
culture. DIGICULT is today a web portal updated daily with many news from 
all over the world, with calls for artists, with events and projects 
highlights, links, reviews and theoretical texts. DIGICULT is also the 
editor of the monthly magazine DIGIMAG, discussing with a critic and 
journalistic approach, about net art, hacktivism, video art, electronica, 
audio video, interaction design, artificial intelligence, new media, 
software art, performing art.  DIGICULT produce an electronic music and 
audiovisual podcast, DIGIPOD, and has also its own newsletter international 
service DIGINEWS.  DIGICULT in finally involved with the art agency DIGIMADE 
in activities like media partnerships and special reports of some important 
festivals, special projects and curatorships in Italy and worldwide, and is 
actually working as curator/promoter of some Italian artists presenting 
their work within some important festivals, events, platforms and cultural 
centers in Europe and worldwide, operating with digital art, with a focus on 
Audiovisual contemporary art and design.

http://www.digicult.it
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