Constant

Publication launch

An — 2016-05-25T17:38:06Z

We are very happy to invite you to the launch of the online Cqrrelations publication.
Cqrrelations was a worksession of two weeks we organised in deBuren in January 2015. As one year counts for fifty in the world of Cqrrelations, we thought it might be interesting to transform this gathering into another reflection moment.

The following guests will be sharing their ideas with us:
* Geoff Cox will merge thoughts developed in his book 'Speaking Code' with recent developments - http://www.anti-thesis.net/
* Antoinette Rouvroy will be respondent. As a researcher and thinker she coined the concept 'Algorithmic governmentality' to name the kind of policy making that relies on big data. https://unamur.academia.edu/AntoinetteRouvroy
* RYBN presents Dataghost 2, an update of http://rybn.org/dataghost/archives/
* Manetta Berends & Ruben van de Ven, both finishing their masters in Media Design at the Piet Zwart Institute, present their graduation work for which they found inspiration at Cqrrelations.
http://www.manettaberends.nl/
http://www.rubenvandeven.com/

PROGRAM
14-19h presentations & discussions
19-20h: drinks & snacks

Where: FoAM, Koolmijnenkaai / Quai des Charbonnages 30-34, 1080 Brussels

Please register by sending a mail to info||||| at||||| constantvzw||||| dot|||| org

**********************************************************************************
More information about the presentations

Geoff Cox - Speaking algorithms
In 2012, Geoff Cox published Speaking Code, a book written with Alex
McLean, examining some of the economical and political conditions of
coding and the analogy to free speech. Starting from the idea of code as
speech act, it unfolded its argument in dialogue with code fragments. In
his presentation, Geoff will further develop some of these ideas in the
light of an apparent shift in software studies: in which algorithms
increasingly replace source code as objects of critical concern. What are
the lines of continuity and discontinuity in this apparent shift? What has
been displaced in the shift of discourse? How does this relate to big data
and how value is produced through correlations? From there, Geoff will
return to the question of speech and ask: if algorithms could speak, what
would they say? If data were able to speak for itself, what would it say
about itself and its value? Geoff's presentation will be interspersed by
code fragments selected from different machine learning software libraries
selected by the Cqrrelations team.
Geoff Cox is Associate Professor in the School of Communication and Culture, and Participatory IT Research Centre, Aarhus University (DK), currently engaged on a 3 year research project The Contemporary Condition funded by the Danish Council for Independent Research (with Jacob Lund). He is also Adjunct faculty Transart Institute (DE/US), an occasional artist/curator, and part of the self-institution Museum of Ordure.
http://www.anti-thesis.net

RYBN - Dataghost2
Dataghost2 explores the use of hermeneutic interpretation systems of the Kabbalah applied to communication networks, in the attempt to update the hidden messages that hide there. A /daemon/, installed on a server, spies on all electronic communication and captures the content that is been generated by the active processes at work in the management and administration of the network. All this content is fed to different decipherment algorithms that reproduce the emblematic techniques of the Kabbalah - /Gematria, Temura et Notarique./
RYBN.ORG is an artistic collective based in Paris since 2000. They're specialised in the creation of installations, performances and interfaces that refer as much to the codified systems of artistic representation (painting, architecture, counter-cultures) as to human and physical phenomenons.
http://rybn.org

Manetta Berends - i-could-have-written-that
The large amount of digital text available these days, is presented as the problem that text mining can solve. Written language from social media users, product reviews and even essays from students are turned into data. Text mining is executed with untenable enthusiasm and a strong belief in the reading abilities of a text mining system. However, an actual text mining process is messy and chaotic. Although the eventual results are presented as being read or mined from the text, they show more similarities to something that is written. This research project shows how the software, workprocess and vocabulary together construct text mining results.
Manetta Berends has been educated as a graphic designer at ArtEZ, Arnhem before starting her master-education at the Piet Zwart Institute (PZI), Rotterdam. From an interest in linguistics, code and a research based design practice, she currently works on the systemization of language in the field of natural language processing and text mining.
http://www.manettaberends.nl/

Ruben van de Ven - Choose how you feel; you have seven options
What does it mean to feel 64% happiness and 12% disgust? The video work 'Choose how you feel; you have seven options' revolves around this question as it looks at software that derives emotional parameters from facial expressions. It interrogates a discursive apparatus that is being erected.
Combining his backgrounds in filmmaking and programming, Ruben van de Ven (NL) challenges alleged objective practices. He is intrigued by the intersection of highly cognitive practices and ambiguous experiences. In his last works he wonders: "what does it mean to feel 47% happy and 21% surprised?"
http://www.rubenvandeven.com/

View online : http://www.cqrrelations.constantvzw...

Cqrrelating Compositions & Party

denis — 2015-06-19T11:04:40Z

Data can be analysed, correlated and cqrrelated, discussed, visualised, and sonorised.

During a live-coding concert Alexandra Cárdenas, a Colombian composer living in Berlin, will cqrrelate some of the data the artists in deBuren experimented with. Afterwards Belgian mathematician and musician Valery Vermeulen offers us a first listening of Krystall Ball, a composition on the base of econometric data, algorithms and models that shape the global financial industries. His sound waves will be taken on by dj's and transformed in a steaming dance experience.

This evening is organised collaboration with CPDP.

View online : http://cqrrelations.constantvzw.org

Cqrrelaties @ Transmediale

An — 2015-01-06T17:51:09Z

Dick Reckard, An Mertens, Brendan Howell en Catherine Lenoble stellen enkele van de ideeën voor die werden ontwikkeld tijdens Cqrrelaties (spreek uit 'crummylaties, querylaties...), de laatste werksessie van Constant in Brussel. Het concept van deze werksessie was geïnspireerd op hun werk met Algolit, een Constantgroep die gefascineerd is door wat zich op de grens afspeelt tussen tekst, taal en code.
Ze experimenteerden onder meer met gereedschappen voor tekstanalyse, ontwikkeld door onderzoekers van CLiPS aan de Universiteit van Antwerpen. Aan de hand van datasets op basis van grote corpussen tekst ontwikkelden ze systemen om vrij accuraat leeftijd, geslacht en stijl van auteurs te bepalen.
Hun presentatie wordt gevolgd door de performance van het Markov Chain algoritme, met analoge technieken.

View online : http://www.transmediale.de/festival

Cqrrelations @ Transmediale

An — 2015-01-06T17:51:08Z

Dick Reckard, An Mertens, Brendan Howell et Catherine Lenoble présenteront quelques idées développées lors de la session de travail récente de Constant à Bruxelles, 'Cqrrelations' (prononcez crummylations, querylations, quarrylations,...). Le concept de cette session a été inspiré par leur travail avec Algolit, le groupe de Constant intéressé à l'intersection entre le texte, le language et le code.
Ils ont entre autres expérimenté avec des outils d'analyse de texte, développées par des chercheurs de CLiPS à l'Université d'Anvers. En utilisant un grand corpus de textes en language naturel, ils ont développé des systèmes qui déterminent avec une précision considérable le genre et l'âge de l'auteur, tout comme des mensonges en textes écrits.
Après leur présentation ils performeront l'algorithme Markov Chain en utilisant des techniques analogues.

View online : http://www.transmediale.de/festival

Cqrrelations @ Transmediale

An — 2015-01-06T17:51:06Z

Dick Reckard, An Mertens, Brendan Howell and Catherine Lenoble will present some ideas developed during 'Cqrrelations' (pronounce crummylations, querylations...), the latest Constant work session in Brussels. The work session was inspired by their work with Algolit, the Constant workgroup which deals with the intersection of text, language and code.
They experimented amongst other things with text analysis tools developed by researchers from CLiPS at the University of Antwerp. The session used datasets built from large corpora of natural language to build systems that can accurately guess the gender and age of writers and even find probable lies in written text.
After the presentation they will perform the Markov Chain algorithm using analog techniques.

View online : http://www.transmediale.de/festival

Presentaties

An — 2014-12-18T12:52:33Z

Tijdens een werksessie in deBuren experimenteert een groep kunstenaars, hackers, theoretici, statistici en onderzoekers met big data, waarbij ze proberen om hun eigen stem, zintuigen, lichamen en de fysieke context van de correlatie als parameters in de tabellen te smokkelen. Als een reeks korte, informele presentaties krijg je een eerste overzicht van hun werk.
Met o.a. presentaties van Peter Westenberg, Nicolas Malevé, Kate Rich en twee performances van algoritmes, voorbereid door Adva Zakai & An Mertens.

In samenwerking met Recyclart

View online : http://cqrrelations.constantvzw.org

Partage d'idées

An — 2014-12-18T12:52:31Z

Le groupe d'artistes, programmeurs, geeks, designers qui sera réuni lors de la session de travail à deBuren, présentera un premier aperç de leurs idées et projets. Avec e.a. des interventions de Peter Westenberg, Nicolas Malevé, Kate Rich et deux performances d'algorithmes préparées par Adva Zakai & An Mertens.

En collaboration avec Recyclart

View online : http://cqrrelations.constantvzw.org

Sharing ideas

An — 2014-12-18T12:52:28Z

The group of artists, geeks, hackers, programmers, researchers that will be part of the work session in deBuren, will present a first overview of their ideas.
With a.o. presentations by Peter Westenberg, Nicolas Malevé, Kate Rich and a performance of two algorithms prepared by Adva Zakai & An Mertens.

In collaboration with Recyclart

View online : http://cqrrelations.constantvzw.org

Compositions Cqrrélées & Fête

An — 2014-12-05T12:21:18Z

Les données peuvent être analysées, corrélées et cqrrélées, discutées, visualisées, mais aussi sonorisées.

Lors d'un concert de live-coding Alexandra Cárdenas, compositrice colombienne qui habite Berlin, sonorisa quelques données avec lesquelles des artistes auront expérimentées lors de leur résidence à deBuren. Ensuite le mathématicien et musicien belge Valery Vermeulen nous offre une première écoute de Krystall Ball, une composition à base de données économetriques, des algorithmes et des modèles qui forment les industries globales finanières. Ses vagues sonores seront captées par des djs et transformées en une expérience dansante fumante!

Cette soirée est organisée en collaboration avec CPDP.

View online : http://cqrrelations.constantvzw.org

Cqrrelerende Composities & Party

An — 2014-12-05T12:14:44Z

We kunnen data analyseren, correleren, bespreken, visualiseren, maar ook sonoriseren.

Tijdens een live-coding concert cqrreleert de Colombiaanse Alexandra Cárdenas gegevens waarmee kunstenaars in deBuren experimenteerden. Daarna trakteert de Belgische wiskundige en muzikant Valery Vermeulen ons op een eerste staalkaart van Krystal Ball, een compositie aan de hand van econometrische data, algoritmes en modellen die aan de basis liggen van de wereldwijde financiële industrie. De geluidsgolven worden ten slotte door dj's opgepikt en getransformeerd in een stomende danservaring.

Deze avond is georganiseerd in samenwerking met CPDP.

View online : http://cqrrelations.constantvzw.org