Thu, 03 Jan 2008 12:00am

MA | 3W02 Locatiing Autopoiesis

How do I create audiovisual artworks that behave like autopoietic systems and exhibit emergent properties?

My research as remained very much based around this question and as I've passed the half-way point of my MA I have, if anything, become even more focussed on the first part of it 'how do I create audiovisual artworks that behave like autopoietic systems'.

Autopoiesis is a fairly simple concept - relating to the property of systems that self-create - yet one that I have found difficult to fully define, identify and create in an audiovisual arts context.

In particular, I often find myself wondering if autopoiesis is something that may be easier to create at the conceptual level of my work, rather than at the physical.

For example, in my research essay I concluded that the artwork 'I See You' was not an autopoietic system in a physical sense. The more I think about it though, the more I wonder if 'I See You' is actually autopoietic conceptually. If the we consider the 'artwork' to be the complete 'interactive system' I created for the piece (this is what I would now call an 'art-system'), and not simply the physical manifestation that a user sees in front of them then it could be said that the idea of 'I See You' is self-created through the interaction by the user with the physical aspects of the artwork. So long as the physical integrity of the work is maintained then the idea will continue to self-create in autopoietic way.

This is, for me, a slightly difficult thing to deal with. Not because I don't like or appreciate conceptual artwork, but because I have specifically set out not to be a conceptual artist! I like my work to be appreciable on a purely sensual level - be that as light, sound or touch - and I often feel that conceptual art lacks in this area and fails in its attempt to make up for this through the 'cleverness' of it's ideas.

However, my research is is leading me to accept that as my artwork develops I will inevitably enter the conceptual realm. My challenge therefore is to create artwork that is both immediately satisfying to the viewer and conceptually complete. Consequently, if I am to create autopoietic artwork as per my stated aim then I need to be open as to where this property might exist within the complete digital art-systems that I create.

Author: Sean Clark