It amazes me how everyone has a different way of seeing the same thing. We are so immersed in our own worlds that at times it is difficult to comprehend that someone else may interpret the same thing in a completely different manner. This brings us back to the old childhood argument that I'm sure many have discussed, what me and my friends (incorrectly) coined "color theory": what if the blue that I see is actually your green? I remember sitting, dazed and frightened almost for hours. What if the world as I see it is not the same as you see it? But it is this diversity of vision and interpretation, the various unique "lenses" that we each wear, that brings a colorful diversity and variability to the world.
Reas, Material, Structure #003A
A beautiful way of conceptualizing the different "lenses" that individuals see through is by using different media to demonstrate a single concept. New media artist, Casey Reas does this in his own way through software art. His piece, Material, uses "the same structure in different languages." He articulates:
Reas, Material, Structure #003B
"Artists use a wide range of materials to great effect: leather, honey, blood, oil, steel, felt, latex, paper, rubber, plastic, bones, cotton, concrete, glass, ceramics, copper, etc. The choice of material affects the perception of the work and therefore a careful choice is critical to success. Artists working with the software medium also use a wide range of materials: Java, C++, Perl, PHP, BASIC, LISP, PostScript, Python, etc. These software materials are not as familiar to most people as the physical materials mentioned above, but regardless, the choice of programming language greatly affects the perception of a piece of software...For this project, one structure was implemented in three different software materials to isolate the similarities and differences between each."
Watching these videos, side-by-side illuminates the fact that different languages, different programs, different lenses, different people, all interpret and therefore, see and produce things differently. I don't sense a hierarchy of which language or POV is better when I watch this. I find myself, rather, appreciating the subtle differences that are the result of "translation" between different softwares in this work.
Watch & Compare: (Sorry, I can't embed the moving images here)
The other two works are written in C++, which requires you to download a program. Do that here.
