The Computer Arts Society 2025 programme continues

The Radical Past and Future of the Computer Arts Society
Exhibition Opening and Talks

Speakers: Sean Carroll & Others; Moderator: Sean Clark
18:00 GMT, Wednesday, 26 March 2025
Other time zones here:  https://www.timeanddate.com 
<https://www.timeanddate.com/> 

This hybrid event will be held In Person and via Zoom.  Booking link below.
BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT
25 Copthall Avenue, London, EC2R 7BP, UK
Directions here: https://www.bcs.org/about-us/our-london-office-and-event-venue/

Vladimir Mayakovsky's 1922 poem Écoutez, Canailles! (Listen, Scoundrels!) is a 
fierce critique of institutional apathy and a call for artists to engage with 
urgent social issues. Gustav Metzger was the first editor of the CAS bulletin 
PAGE and he advanced this dialogue: in PAGE 10, he presented Mayakovsky's poem 
without commentary or translation, compelling readers to question its meaning 
and engage with its critique on their own. Then in PAGE 11, his essay about the 
military-industrial development of computers invited readers to draw their own 
connections.  This exhibition reflects this critical spirit, encouraging 
viewers to draw their own parallels between past artistic exploration and 
contemporary challenges. Listen, Scoundrels! serves not just as a title but as 
a call to action, urging artists to critically engage with technology and avoid 
entanglement in the systems of power and apathy that Mayakovsky and Metzger 
condemned.

As we draw parallels between the historical debates documented in PAGE and 
present challenges, calls to action such as John Whitney’s statements in PAGE 
24 resonate with striking clarity. “Who is the genius who will use the computer 
for real great ART? Not a trained artist - not a programmer - but someone 
(anyone) with extraordinary imagination and a very human sensitivity”. His 
words remind us that the true potential of technology lies not in technical 
mastery, computational power or even in algorithms, but in the capacity for 
imagination and empathy. In a time when AI increasingly shapes our tools, 
systems, and creative practices, Whitney’s question remains urgent: how might 
we cultivate the sensitivity and vision necessary to navigate this moment?

Listen, Scoundrels!, forms part of Sean Carroll's PhD research at DeMontfort 
University into the application of AI to explore archival materials in the 
curatorial process. This particular exploration centres on PAGE, the bulletin 
of the Computer Art Society that has shaped dialogues around art and technology 
since its inception in 1969.  Carroll began his investigation without providing 
guidance for the AI, allowing it to construct its own interpretation of the 
source material through a series of generative summaries. On examining these 
insights, what emerges from the AIs analysis is a story of radical 
conversations, of pioneers, of debates and arguments, all centred on a deeply 
focussed and committed community.

The presentations will be followed by the exhibition opening and reception.  
The event will be recorded and uploaded to the CAS YouTube Channel.

This hybrid event is In-Person and via Zoom and open to the public and is free 
but you must book your place here:  
https://ComputerArtsSociety260325.eventbrite.co.uk 
<https://computerartssociety260325.eventbrite.co.uk/>

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Our next meeting will be a talk by the artist Bhavani Esapathi on 16 April 2025 
in Person and Zoom.

You can see our future programme here: 
https://computer-arts-society.com/events/index.html

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