Question: Regarding the social and political implications of code and software within this theme in Ars Electronica 2003 and also Transmediale 2001 that you organised on software art. How come software and code reflection themes have reappeared years later, after the 70s and after the early pioneers?
Answer (2'22'')

Question: A while ago you were writing about interface as a field of subjectivity, as a way to construct new subjectivities related to the cultural and social changes. Do you think code is getting deeper into this artistic tendency of creating different interfaces?
Answer (1'41'')

Question: What do you think about all the new categories and structures appearing through the new media fields?
Answer (1'28'')

Question: Something else that is difficult to see and everybody talks about is the relationship between software and art. In your opinion, what are the parameters in the intersection of software and art?
Answer (1'46'')

Question: Traditionally, a big distinction is made between art and design. How do you relate this separation in these new categories that we are talking about?
Answer (2'05'')

Question: We talked about the social repercussion of art, but we didn't mention the market existing in this social relationship. Digital art is also getting into museums, galleries and other institutions. In which aspects do you think this market can influence the political and social aspects of new digital art works?
Answer (1'31'')

Question: Digital art concerns the social changes and political issues that were transformed after the dot com and the utopias from the early Internet times crashed. What do think the next one will be? Which aspects of emerging digital art do you think could influence society in the future?
Answer (1'51'')

Question: What could you tell us about the place of utopias on the Internet now?
Answer (1'58'')

Question: Why now? Why do you think now is the moment to review past utopias and think about future ones?
Answer (1'04'')

Throughout the conversation with Andreas Broeckmann, code and software art themes come up as the main subjects. We review the past, the present and future of digital art; and more specifically software and code arts. In connection with this review, we talk about the evolution of digital art utopias, the ones that have already crashed and the emerging ones, and also the repercussion of utopia evolution and software and code development on our culture and society.

Andreas Broeckmann studied art history, sociology and media studies and worked as a project manager at V2_Organisation Rotterdam, Institute for the Unstable Media. He has been the Artistic Director of Transmediale (international media art festival in Berlin ) since 2000. He is a member of mikro, a Berlin-based initiative for the advancement of media cultures, and of the European Cultural Backbone, a network of media centres.

Interviewed by Pau Alsina, Professor of Humanities Studies (UOC), at Ars Electronica 2003.

code, software art, utopia, culture, society, future

CV, texts and interesting links on Andreas Broeckmann