spring_alpha

social software system by Simon Yuill

drawings by Chad McCail



Opening 8 April 17.00 - 19.00 hour

Exhibition April 9 - June 6

Presentation and Discussion Tuesday April 13, 2004 , 20.30 - 22.30 hour

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The Scottish artist Simon Yuill developed the first phase of spring_alpha during his Artist in Residence from January 12th till April 12th 2004 at the Netherlands Media Art Institute. spring_alpha is an exploration of software and social governance in relation to Free Software and Open Source practice. The project combines the development of an open software system along with workshop events that seek to broaden Free Software and Open Source development principles into areas outside of programming.



The software system is a networked game/simulation environment based on Chad McCail's drawing "Spring" and the series "Evolution is Not Over Yet". These narrate the attempts of a small, urban community to create its own "utopian" society. This narrative is used as a metaphor for the real-world issues that the project explores and a focus around which workshop ideas can develop. The software system serves as a "sketch pad" for testing out ideas for alternative forms of social practice at both the "narrative" level, in terms of the game story, and at a "code" level, in terms of working with the actual data and communication structures that support the game. spring_alpha explores, and critiques, parallels between the role of computer code in governing software systems and legal systems in governing human societies. ��������

http://www.spring-alpha.org



Exhibition:

The project will be presented including the original drawing "Spring" and the series "Evolution is Not Over Yet" by Chad McCail.�



Presentation and discussion:

Simon Yuill(Glasgow), media artist, together with Matthew Fuller (Amsterdam), media theorist and artist, Francis McKee (Glasgow), media theorist and curator and Chad McCail (Edinburgh), artist will discuss the next topics:

- The relationship of Open Source/Free Software practice to 'traditional' art and critical practice

- The relationship of Open Source to broader social

- The relationship between software and social systems

�Entrance 3,50 / 2,50reservations [EMAIL PROTECTED]



Netherlands Media Art Institute
Montevideo/Time Based Arts
Keizersgracht 264
1016 EV Amsterdam
The Netherlands
T�+3120 6237101
F�+3120 6244423�
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
www.montevideo.nl


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