telematic

The article first recalls the historical evolution of computer poetry which, from Théo Lutz (1959) to alire (1989), evolves from experimentation to cultural entity. The emphasis is placed on the French evolution through its main expressions, which are the A.L.A.M.O., the first telematic review Art-Access the Les Immatériaux exhibition and the birth of L.A.I.R.E., a difference of viewpoints, of approaches and of the space given by the authors to computer poetry concerning the arts, the machine and the text. This progressive differentiation of focus questions approaches which were thought to be unchanging, regarding the notions of text, reader and author. This questioning started with the A.L.A.M.O. and progressed with L.A.I.R.E. Its description and the expression of the answers it proposes requires a new critical approach to the notion of text, more anchored in a communication pattern which has been developing since 1993 and whose present state is summed up in the third part. The article ends by demonstrating that the smooth running of alire is the full expression of what these new answers imply.

(Source: Visible Language website)

A work-in-progress presentation of a performance project. Abraham's describes a scripted telematic performance in which constraints and interface limitations fme the performance. She describes her work as performance to do research, and research as a medium and playground. Always an exercise in self-organization--the performances are not directed. The performance is a multilingual one about communication, miscommunication, and translation.