A mechanical algorithm

This installation is mechanical algorithm that implements a semi-automatic artist (in hommage to Jean Tinguely's automatic artist). The idea was to illustrate, mechanically, what an algorithm would look like if it were to subsist in the real world. Underlying this installation is the questions of who should own the copyright over computer generated / computer assisted works ? Is it the programmer who made the software that generate the art piece, is it the users who actually use the software, or is it the actual computer who generated the art piece ? Legally speaking, the answer is difficult, since most countries do not even recognize legal protection for computer-generated works. However, we believe that the programmer who constructed the algorithm that will subsequently generate the art work should be - to the least - recognized as the originator of the piece. This is the reason why we decided to display our algorithm to the public, with all its beauty and intricacy.
User input, although absolutely necessary to activate the machine, is not as such part of the creative process. By pedalling the machine, the user activates the beast who engages into a strange dance. A peristaltic pump activated through the pedals of the machine pump paint into a hose that travels through the body of the beast, to finally be spitted out onto a canvas, thereby generating a unique abstract painting. Is the user actually the creator of this painting, or is it just the executor ? Should attribution be given to us - the conceptors of the algorithm - or rather to the beast, who actually executed the painting through its dance ? A definitive answer is difficult to give, without engaging into philosophical discussions and debating legal issues.
To us, it does not really matter. We see art, not as a static artwork, but rather as a dynamic process and interactive event, that does not originate from one specific author, but rather from the contribution of several factors that are all part of the final art piece.
We see ourselves as coders, or rather physical coders. Programming the physical world is probably the hardest thing one can think of, but if digital programming allows one to shape the digital world, then physical programming is definitely a means to shape, and hopefully to enhance the physical world.

Below is a video of the lattest version of our installation as exhibited at the Centquatre in Paris: