Sol LeWitt WALL DRAWINGS
(1928 – 2007)
When programmers wish to create a computer program they must guide the computer to
produce the results intended. It is the job of the programmer to convert the problem solutions
by preparing step by step instructions and procedures for the computer to process. As humans
we already have an understanding of how to perform tasks as our brains have compounded
different knowledge systems that we have attained through a series of trial and error
situations throughout our lives. The computer is like a clean slate and needs to be educated by
us but in its own language and knowledge systems. For example, when asked to draw a
circle, we understand what a circle is through our observations of objects that have a
spherical composition and also through prior education, but the computer needs to know all
the parameters of the circle, instructed by us through the use of a coded dialogue. This means
that if we want the computer to draw a circle we need to instruct it as to how big the circle is,
where on the screen it is to be placed and where the circle starts and finishes. When
understanding this process it is clear to see that computational processes are human activities
that existed well before the technological age. To understand the world through the gaze of
the computer we would see the world as one enormous grid with countless possibilities
perceived and authorised through a series of coordinates.
The five basic procedures when implementing instructions for programming are as follows:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Define the problem
Plan the solution
Code the program
Test to see if it works
Document the process
(Department of Computer Science and Statistics, 2015)
When we start to see the computer as a platform for human generated ideas, the concept of
programming becomes less complicated. One contemporary artist that understands this
concept is the American conceptual artist, Sol Le Witt. Le Witt played a leading role in the
Conceptual movement as he believed the ‘artist’ to be the generator of ideas (The Art Story
Foundation, 2015), similar to the process of a computer programmer generating code. The
Conceptual movement was a break away from the modern romantic movement of Abstract
Expressionism that highlighted the artwork as the art form. Le Witt believed that the artistic
‘idea’ was art and that the creator should be able to instruct others through the use of
instructions to produce the intended result. He deliberately made the instructions rather vague
so that the end product was not completely controlled by the artist. By doing this, Le Witt
challenged the fundamental beliefs of modern which gave authority to the artist in the
production of the artwork. He also thought that the materials and processes were more
important in conceptual art, and that art could exist for art’s sake. Meaning and narrative
were not important.
To understand how the end product is not fully controlled by the artist, here is an example of
one of Sol Le Witt’s Wall Drawings:
#118 “On a wall surface, any
continuous stretch of wall,
using a hard pencil, place
fifty points at random.
The points should be evenly
distributed over the area
of the wall. All of the
points should be connected
by straight lines. “
Sol Le Witt Wall Drawing #118
When we look at Le Witt’s Wall Drawings through the computational gaze, there are several
contingencies presented in his instructions. ‘On a walled surface’, implies any surface,
whether it be brick, painted, gip rock or mud brick. Depending on the surface of the wall the
background could be different each time. ‘Place fifty points at random’, also changes the
positioning of the points each time. The size of the wall would determine the spacing of the
dots which would ultimately influence the shape of the final drawing. If this were a
computational process the instructions would need to be fixed which would inhibit the
designs possibilities. But the fact that the Wall Drawings require a group of people to execute
the task, Sol Le Witt could be seen to be the ‘human’ instructing the ‘machine’ in what
Bernard Stiegler refers to as Instrumentalisation (Deleflie E, 2015).
Sol Le Witt dedicated forty years to his conceptual art practice with some pieces taking only
a few hours but others taking weeks to complete. The instructions and procedures required to
execute the tasks, practice compression by reducing the noise involved in processing the
instruction set. Sol Le Witt has shifted the way we look and produce art that acknowledges
modernity as each piece exists in the present fleeting moment.
REFERENCES
Department of Computer Science and Statistics, 2015, The Programming Process, Computer
Programming, viewed 17th August 2015,
www.homepage.cs.uri.edu/book/programming/programming.htm
Le Witt, S 2015, Wall Drawing #118, Public Space One, image, viewed 17th August 2015,
http://pszic.com/
The Art Story Foundation, 2015, Sol Le Witt, The Art Story Modern Art Insight, webpage,
viewed 16th August, 2015, http://www.theartstory.org/artist-lewitt-sol.htm
Deleflie, E 2015, ‘Technology and Society’, lecture, MEDA102, University of Wollongong,
delivered 29th July 2015