MT2

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Research Background In the field of Electronic Media Art (EMA) a central concern of the subfield Generative art (GA) asks what characterises good GA (McCormack & D'Inverno, 2011)? Many of the field's prominent theorists have argued for a system-as-art focus, as characterized by Whitelaw (2001), and practitioners like Colton (painting fool) foreground this in public exhibitions of GA projects. However, there is a growing acceptance in the field that GA has failed to achieve high significance or lasting relevance in contemporary art (Romero et.al 2007, Boden et.al 2009, Dorin 2012, McCormack 2014). By contrast, an alternative characterization of GA is emerging from the associated field of Procedural Content Generation within Computer Gaming and Animation. This characterizes GA as a utilitarian tool for aiding creative process and productivity (Togelius et.al 2011). Research Contribution The work 'MT.V2' engages with this debate by seamlessly integrating generative and non-generative (hand-assembled) creative processes within an art-imaging project. This contributes to an argument for an expansion of the field's theoretical focus to include a broader, more utilitarian characterization of GA as a tool that can be instrumentally integrated into a wider range of EMA practices on a flexible and pragmatic basis. Research Significance The following indicators attest to its value: (a) its inclusion in 'Notfair 2014' exhibition. Currated by Ashley Crawford, Sam Leach & Rebecca Richards, this bi-annual exhibition aims to highlight the work of important contemporary artists that work outside of the commercial gallery system; (b) in the its prominent inclusion as part of an article profiling Murray McKeich, in the influential Chinese Photographic Art magazine 'Photo World', in a series of articles showcasing contemporary Australian photographers by the eminent Australian photo media curator Alasdair Foster.