TIM_B_031 Artificial Life Art

Faculty of Arts
Autumn 2024

The course is not taught in Autumn 2024

Extent and Intensity
1/1/0. 4 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Martina Ivičič (lecturer), doc. Mgr. Jana Horáková, Ph.D. (deputy)
Guaranteed by
Mgr. Martina Ivičič
Department of Musicology – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Ing. Alena Albíniová
Supplier department: Department of Musicology – Faculty of Arts
Prerequisites
An ability to understand English text and write a critical review.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
The capacity limit for the course is 150 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/150, only registered: 0/150, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/150
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
Students will be able to formulate their own critical view of the phenomena related to artificial life research, and AL art, and to determine its status and importance in the wider cultural and social context. They will have an overview about art from the 90s till today (The VIDA Art and Artificial Life International Awards).
Learning outcomes
Students will be able to:
- Understand the basic ontological concept of life and to distinguish between the biological top-down and technological bottom-up approach.
- Formulate their own critical view on phenomena related to the research of the art of artificial life and to determine its position and importance in the wider cultural and social context.
- Define two different philosophical approaches to AL (strong and weak).
- Describe basic properties and predispositions of ALA.
- Design a concept of the Artificial Life in a team project, to describe it and to characterize its meaning.
Syllabus
  • - Introduction - course content and requirements for successful completion, recommended literature Introduction to AL issues and anchoring in the context of new media.
  • - Definitions, criticisms, utopias. Difference in traditional biology approaches and AL.
  • - AL as a scientific discipline vs. Artificial Life Art. AL as a fusion of biology of art, science and technology. Sci-art concepts, transarts.
  • - Hardware-Software-Wetware distribution. (From robotic projects through SW simulation to biology). Historical precedents in the field of natural sciences and evolutionary theories. Technological precedents. Information and generative aesthetics.
  • - Attributes of ALA. Concepts of system theory: Emergence, autopoiesis. Generative processes. The importance of mutation in the evolutionary process. Biology and Computer Science - Biological analogy in ALA.
  • - ALA in practice. The benefits of Artificial Life in different areas and its practical use. Presentation and Analysis of the Team Project – Idea and suggestion of work of ALA.
Literature
    required literature
  • TAYLOR, Charles- JEFFERSON, David: Artificial Life as a Tool for Biological Inquiry. In: LANGTON, Christopher (1995). Artificial Life: An Overview. edited by Christopher G. Langton, A Bradford Book Cambridge Massachusetts: The MIT Press, London, England
  • TENHAAF, Nel (1998): As Art Is Lifelike: Evolution, Art and the Readymade,Leonardo 31, no. 5.
  • HAYLES, Katherine (1996) Narratives of Artificial Life, in FutureNatural, ed. George Robertosn et. al. London:Routledge
  • WHITELAW, Mitchel (2004) Metacreation – Art and Artificial Life. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press,. 296 s. ISBN 978-0-262-04249-9 (Introduction: s. 1-20)
    not specified
  • TENHAAF, Nel (1998): As Art Is Lifelike: Evolution, Art and the Readymade,Leonardo 31, no. 5.
  • HAYLES, Katherine (1996) Narratives of Artificial Life, in FutureNatural, ed. George Robertosn et. al. London:Routledge
  • LANGTON, Christopher (1995). Artificial Life: An Overview. edited by Christopher G. Langton, A Bradford Book Cambridge Massachusetts: The MIT Press, London, England
  • WHITELAW, Mitchel (2004) Metacreation – Art and Artificial Life. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press,. 296 s. ISBN 978-0-262-04249-9 (Introduction: s. 1-20)
Teaching methods
After each lecture, students will regularly submit their own analysis of the pre-written text. In their own text they will validate the ability of reflection, criticism, analysis of the subject.
The text should contain:
a) analysis, which is the supportive idea of the text.
b) consideration, which is interesting or beneficial for the student.
c) give references and links to other topics, texts and authors (search for contexts).
Semestral team project - designing the concept of own work ALA.
Assessment methods
Regular work on your own text analysis. Own reflection and level of understanding is evaluated.
Semestral team project - design of the concept of own work ALA - its description, presentation and team analysis and criticism. Own contribution to the project, the ability to define and present it is evaluated.
Language of instruction
Czech
Further Comments
The course is taught annually.
The course is taught: every week.
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