A short history of animated poetry. Includes the history of the group "L.A.I.R.E.", and the group "Transitoire Observarble".
In this paper, Philippe Bootz retraces the history and affiliations of electronic poetry in France, emphasizing its tendencies and significant role in the diffusion of "animated poetry." The author focuses on the vanguard of the L.A.I.R.E. group and the magazine Alire, which he and Tibor Papp founded in 1988 and 1989, respectively. This poet and researcher considers that electronic literature also has its own story. This story is an object of debate and positioning within a field of knowledge, particularly French.
(Source: Author's Abstract)
Neste texto, Philippe Bootz apresenta uma síntese da história e filiações da poesia eletrônica na França, enfatizando as tendências e o significativo papel da "poesia animada". O autor se concentra na vanguarda do grupo L.A.I.R.E. e da revista Alire, ambos fundados por ele e Tibor Papp em 1988 e 1989, respectivamente. Ainda para esse poeta e pesquisador, a literatura eletrônica também tem uma história própria. Essa história é um objeto de debate e posicionamento dentro de um campo de conhecimento, particularmente francês.
(Fonte: Resumo do Autor)
Published in 2001 by Bluescreen, the pseudonym of the program’s creator, ExtraPhysicalWorld is a program found on the CD alire12, the twelfth installation of a review inspired by a cooperative of authors, including Phillipe Bootz. This collective that inspired Bluescreen was called L.A.I.R.E. (Lecture Art Innovation Recherche Écriture) and was created in October 1988. However, Bluescreen was part of another collective called Transitoire Observable, created in 2003. It is by means of the folders of the CD-ROM that the « site » ExtraPhysicalWorld is accessed. Normally, the sight could be opened via the internet. Yet as of September 2014, the site of ExtraPhysicalWorld no longer works. Thus, the program had to be accessed through the files of alire12. In any case, the program is characterized by several menus that provide information and various animations. The entry Écrits.txt in the menu includes an article written by Bluescreen in 2001 over the conceptualization of the extra-physical world. Écrits.txt also includes a glossary with numerous definitions such as those for the words univers, blobs and algorithme. It is in the menu Univers.exe where the « worlds » of the program are found. For example, in « Univers 01 : Blob unique au monde » the first « universe » can be seen inhabited by a blob that is in the form of a red cube. In this world, according to Bluescreen, the blobs are living beings and inhabitants. This blob appears to enlarge or approach the screen until it appears to fill it entirely. In « Univers 02 : Couple de Blobs (sic) Rouge » two blobs that behave similarly to the blob of univers 01 can be found, except they do not fill out the screen. With « Univers 03 : Couple partagé », three of these blobs enlarge or approach the screen, just as the blobs of univers 02, but one of the three blobs is larger than the other two. « Univers 04 : 5 Blobs Rouges » shows five blobs that are similar to the blobs in other universes. It is in « ETUDE 1 : Reproduction de Blob Rouge(1) » et « ETUDE 2 : Reproduction du Blob Rouge(2) » that one finds the first two universes but with changes to the behavior of the blobs. These blobs also appear and disappear, stretch and shrink. In truth, the reader does not know if these universes represent the text, or the literary side of the site, or if the paratext, i.e. the articles and the glossary in the menu under Écrits.txt, figures as the true text of the site. Moreover, one can suppose that Bluescreen was inspired by the notions of artificial life when he created his programs, and it is probable that this inspiration gave him the idea of representing this aspect of computing in a literary as well as numeric and electronic fashion. According to Bluescreem, the extra-physical world is “its own spatio-temporal dimension” that exists outside of the physical universe. Yet, the fact that the “universes” of the program are driven by a code that Bluescreen created himself complicates its comprehension since, if this code comes from the physical world, the artificial world is therefore rooted in the physical one.
Publié en 2001 par Bluescreen, le pseudonyme du créateur du programme, ExtraPhysicalWorld est un programme qui se trouve sur le CD alire12, la douzième publication d’une revue inspirée par une coopératif d’auteurs, y compris Phillipe Bootz. Ce collectif qui a inspiré BlueScreen s’appelait L.A.I.R.E, (Lecture Art Innovation Recherche Écriture) et a été créé en octobre 1988. Pourtant, Bluescreen a fait partie d'un autre collectif qui s'appelait Transitoire Observable, créé en 2003. C’est dans les fichiers du CD-ROM que l’on trouve le « site » d’ExtraPhysicalWorld (Les mondes extra-physiques). Normalement, on lançait le site en y accédant sur internet. Cependant, en septembre 2014, le site d’ExtraPhysicalWorld ne marche plus. Donc, il a fallu accéder au programme via les fichiers dans le CD d’alire12. En tout cas, le programme d’ExtraPhysicalWorld se caractérise par quelques menus qui fournissent des renseignements et des animations variés. L’entrée Écrits.txt du menu comprend un article écrit par Bluescreen en 2001 sur la conceptualisation du monde extra-physique. Écrits.txt comprend aussi un glossaire avec de nombreuses définitions telles que l’univers, les blobs et l’algorithme. C’est dans le menu Univers.exe que l’on trouve les « mondes » du programme. Par exemple, dans « Univers 01 : Blob unique au monde » on peut voir le premier « univers » habité par un blob qui prend forme d’un cube rouge. Dans ce monde, selon Bluescreen, les blobs sont des êtres vivants et les habitants. Ce blob semble grandir ou s’approcher de l’écran jusqu’à ce qu’il remplisse l’écran entier. Dans « Univers 02 : Couple de Blobs (sic) Rouge », on trouve deux blobs qui font comme le blob d’univers 01, si ce n’est qu’ils ne remplissent pas l’écran. Avec « Univers 03 : Couple partagé », trois de ces blobs grandissent ou s’approchent, juste come les blobs de l’univers 02, mais un des trois blobs est plus grand que les deux autres. « Univers 04 : 5 Blobs Rouges » montre cinq blobs qui sont similaires aux blobs dans autres univers. C’est dans « ETUDE 1 : Reproduction de Blob Rouge(1) » et « ETUDE 2 : Reproduction du Blob Rouge(2) » que l’on retrouve les deux premiers univers, mais avec des changements du comportement des blobs. Ces blobs-là apparaissent et disparaissent, s’étirent et rétrécissent. En vérité, le lecteur ne sait pas si ces "univers" représentent le texte, ou la cote littéraire du site, ou si le paratexte, c'est-à-dire les articles et le glossaire dans le menu Ecrits.txt, représente le vrai texte du site. De plus, on peut supposer que Bluescreen a été inspire par les notions de la vie artificielle quand il a créé ses programmes, et il est probable que cette inspiration lui a donné l'idée de représenter cet aspect de l'informatique d'une façon littéraire mais aussi numérique et électronique. Selon Bluescreen, le monde extra-physique est "sa propre dimension spatio-temporelle" qui existe en dehors de l'univers physique. Mais, le fait que les "univers" du programme sont dirigés par un code que Bluescreen a créé lui-même complique sa compréhension puisque, si ce code vient du monde physique, ce monde artificiel tire donc ses racines du monde physique.
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)
As an early programmer of digital poetry, theorist, active participant in various literary French movements, and co-founder of journals (alire) and groups (Transistoire Observable), Philippe Bootz outlines the gradual development of a coherent French aesthetic of digital poetry. His article circles around the paradigm of text generation and its different evolving movements which he describes and relates to each other in detail by giving account to the various actors, conditions, and conceptualizations behind the scenes of the communities he analyzes.
(Source: Author's abstract, Dichtung Digital)
Remember that literature first meets computing by generation of text. Christopher Strachey generated love letters on Manchester Computer in 1952, but most agree that digital literature begins in 1959 with Theo Lutz's work Stochastische Texte ('Stochastic Texts') published in the review augenblick.