Hacktivism
Code as Muse
1. The “procedural” approach to art is quite different from traditional art in that, instead of truly creating the art yourself, you tell someone or a programming language the “rules of creation” essentially. In this instance, the artistic merit of the piece isn’t necessarily in the finished product, but the means and guidelines in which the piece was created. The artist becomes merely a guide, pointing the creator in a certain direction.
2.The difference between the artistic use and the technical use of code comes from intent. If the person in question wishes to use the code/software for its intended purpose, then the use is purely technical. But the artist will not use the code or software as intended. The artist will manipulate the code in ways it wasn’t meant to be manipulated; the artist essentially exploits a flaw to his/her advantage. jaromil’s forkbomb is an excellent example in that he uses the codes own rules against it to start infinite processes in UNIX so that the computer eventually crashes.
3.In “Paint By Letters”, Google’s word search coloring mechanism is used to draw pictures. “Web Stalker’s” is a web browser has a screen that shows not only the current web page you’re on but also the other web pages connected to it via links.
4.An example of code as tool is Adobe Photoshop. An example of code as syntax is forkbomb. And an example of code as experience is “My boyfriend came back from the war.”
Designing Politics
1.The difference between hacktivism and political design is that hacktivism not only plays by the laws rules, but twists them to prove a point. Political design on the other hand just breaks those rules entirely and just does something new. rtmark supports hacktivism projects such as the “barbie liberation organization”. Napster was Political Design that broke copyright law.
2.Executable art is art that can be seen and done anywhere and instigated by anyone, thus many to many. But it is also art that has power and effect, it actually provokes a response.
3.Hacktivists do what they do because they see something wrong with the current system and wish to provoke discussion in an effective manner. What better way to do this then by twisting the system so that it mocks itself, such as when rtmark pretended to be the WTO?
4.The concept of a “nation-state” is entirely dependent on the idea of separation, “us vs. them”. But as the internet has come to fruition, separation is becoming less prominent. It has given people from all over the world the ability to communicate and find each other far more easily. Hacktivists use this to their advantage to spread their messages far and wide.