tHIRD ITERATION is the third international conference on generative
systems in the electronic arts. It investigates three major themes
– human-computer creativity, generative meaning systems, and
the computational sublime. Following on from First Iteration (1999)
and Second Iteration (2001), this year’s conference will be
held in Melbourne, Australia on November 30th to December 2nd 2005.
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HUMAN-COMPUTER CREATIVITY
The relationship of the creative process to generative systems is
fundamentally different than that of other modes of design and production.
Rather than being engaged with the construction of an artefact,
the designer specifies the rules of production for a system that
constructs artefacts. What types of generative systems are suited
to the new methodologies of generative design and creative evolution?
How are artists and designers collaborating with these systems to
produce creative human-machine hybrids? Can the computer play a
more significant role in the creative process through new developments
such as ‘creative emergence’? Are new network technologies
or hardware systems enabling alternative experiences of generative
art?
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GENERATIVE MEANING SYSTEMS
Generative systems may be coupled with ontological and semiotic
models for the expression of what may be described as ‘generative
meaning systems’. Can generative systems be used to evolve
language via feedback that interprets the meaning of their output?
In what ways have generative systems been applied to semiotic and
cognitive spaces - such as in the world of digital games? How are
generative systems being used to model the growth of language, social
and cultural networks? What role does audience interaction and cognitive
process play in generating meaning?
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THE COMPUTATIONAL SUBLIME
The output of generative systems is characterised by scale, complexity
and behaviour that transcend the limits of human perception that
can be described as the computational sublime. This idea suggests
processes that we cannot comprehend directly, yet can experience
through computational machines. How is the theory of the computational
sublime placed in relation to
other theories of the sublime in nature and art? Although a fundamental
understanding of emergence itself remains elusive, it is a defining
characteristic of the nature of generative systems. What is the
relationship of emergence to the computational sublime?
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THIRD ITERATION : topics of interest
Artificial Life
Artificial selection
Cellular automata
Cultural interpretations of generative theories & methodologies
Digital nature
Evolutionary aspects of creativity & creative behaviour
Feedback networks
Genetic algorithms
Learning & knowledge-based systems
Mathematical & generative modelling
Memes
Models of creativity and creative processes
Neural networks
Recombinant media
Rule-based systems
Software artworks
Systems theory
:: THIRD
ITERATION : applications
Architecture
Animation
Computer graphics
Cultural theory
Digital games
Digital design
Electronic & computer-based music composition
Evolutionary theory
Interaction design
Software development
Visual, sound & performance art
Virtual environments
