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)NTERNETBROWSERSOFFERUSALISTOFSITESRELEVANTTOOURSEARCHESTHE
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THERE IS A CRUCIAL PROBLEM WITH MOVING TO SUCH ACTIVE AMPLIlCATION
ACROSSALLOF(#)4HEMOREPOWERWEDELEGATETOACOMPUTER THELESS
CONTROLWEHAVEOVERWHATITISDOING(OWDOWEKNOWTHATTHEAGENT
PROGRAM HAS IDENTIlED A CORRECT PATTERN IN OUR DAILY USE OF EMAIL
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ITHASNTBEENCORRUPTEDBYTHEM)NSHORT HOWDOWEKNOWTHATA

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7EALSOENCOUNTERTHEUSERASAKINDOFGODCONTROLLINGTHEUNIVERSE
INMANYCOMPUTERGAMES BUT&LASHPROJECTSALLOWUSTOFEELTHEJOYOF
CREATINGTHEUNIVERSEFROMSCRATCH
!CTIVE AMPLIlCATION IS NOT THE ONLY FEATURE THAT &LASH PROJECTS
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MOVIESSERVEDFOR7ARHOL#INEMAAND46COLONIZEDTHEUNCONSCIOUS
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STEAD THEIRICONOGRAPHY TEMPORALRHYTHMSANDINTERACTIONAESTHETICS
COMEFROMGAMES-IKE#LAVERTMIKECLAVERTCOM 3OMETIMESUSER
PARTICIPATION IS NEEDED FOR THE &LASH GAME TO WORK SOMETIMES THE
GAMEJUSTPLAYSITSELF54/0)!BYFUTUREFARMERSCOMDEXTROORG 








&LASHVERSUS.ET!RT
4HE )NTERNET EXHIBITION OF THE 4IRANA "IENNALE  THIS TITLE IS
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THE7ESTASFROMTHE%AST .ETARTACCURATELYREmECTEDTHEECONOMIC
ANDSOCIALUTOPIAOFTHENEWSPOST #OLD7ARWORLD
.OWTHISUTOPIAISOVER4HEPOWERSTRUCTURESOFTHE'LOBAL%M
PIREHAVEBECOMECLEAR ANDTHEDEMOGRAPHICSOFTHE)NTERNETEXHIBI
TIONOFTHE4IRANA"IENNALEMIRROREDTHEM-ANYOFTHEPARTICIPAT
INGARTISTSWORKINTHEWORLDSKEY)4REGIONS3AN&RANCISCO3ILICON
6ALLEY .EW9ORK3ILICON!LLEY AND.ORTHERN%UROPE
3O WHAT HAPPENED )N THE MID S .ET ART RELIED ON SIMPLE
(4-,THATRANWELLONBOTHFASTANDSLOWCONNECTIONS4HISPROMOTED
ACTIVEPARTICIPATIONBYARTISTSFROMTHE%AST"UTTHESUBSEQUENTCOL
ONIZATION OF THE 7EB BY MULTIMEDIA FORMATS n &LASH 3HOCKWAVE
1UICK4IME AND SO ON n REINSTATED THE TRADITIONAL7EST%AST POWER
RELATIONS.OW7EBARTREQUIRESFAST)NTERNETCONNECTIONSFORBOTHART
ISTS AND AUDIENCES7ITH ITS SLOW CONNECTIONS THE %AST IS OUT OF THE
GAME4HE5TOPIAISOVERWELCOMETOTHE%MPIRE
4HE4IRANA"IENNALEDIDINCLUDEONEARTISTFROM#HINA WHO
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ZHQ SOHUCOM-AYBEHEDOESNTEVENLIVEIN#HINA







'ENERATION&,!3(&!1
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CEIVEDMANYRESPONSES(EREAREMYANSWERSTOTWOOFTHEMOSTCOM
MONQUESTIONSTHAT)WASASKED

1UESTION
)SNT THE hSOFT MODERNISMv YOU DESCRIBE SIMPLY A RESULT OF THE
PARTICULAR TECHNOLOGICAL LIMITATIONS OF MULTIMEDIA ON THE .ET #ER
TAINFEATURESOF&LASHAREDESIGNEDTODELIVERANIMATIONOVERANARROW
BANDWIDTH ANDYOUSEEMTOMISTAKETHEMFORABROADERZEITGEIST

!NSWER
3INCETHENEW&LASHRELEASE&LASH-8 ALLOWSFORVIDEOIMPORTS
ANDVIDEOSTREAMING ITISPOSSIBLETHATWEWILLNOLONGERlNDTHEAES
THETICSOFTHEh&LASHGENERATIONvhSOFTMODERNISMvON&LASHSITESIN
THE FUTURE 4HATS lNE BY ME -Y CONCERN IN THIS ESSAY IS NOT WITH
&LASHSOFTWAREANDITSLIMITATIONSCAPABILITIESPERSE BUTWITHANEW
SENSIBILITYTHATHASMANIFESTEDITSELFINMANY&LASHPROJECTSOVERTHE
LASTCOUPLEOFYEARS)NOTHERWORDS )AMINTERESTEDINTHEh&LASHGEN
ERATIONv4HISISQUITEDIFFERENTFROM&LASHSOFTWAREFORMATS
&OR THIS REASON THE READERS OF MY TEXT WHO ACCUSE ME OF CON
FUSINGATECHNICALSTANDARDWITHAESTHETICSAREMISSINGMYPOINT4HE
VECTOR ORIENTEDLOOKOFhSOFTMODERNISMvISNOTSIMPLYARESULTOFNAR
ROWBANDWIDTHORANOSTALGIAFOR SDESIGN)TALWAYSOCCURSWHEN
PEOPLEBEGINTOGENERATEGRAPHICSTHROUGHPROGRAMMING WHENTHEY
DISCOVERTHATTHEYCANUSESIMPLEEQUATIONS ETC4HISISALSOWHYTHE
hSOFTMODERNISMvOF&LASHPROJECTSANDOTHERSOFTWAREARTREPLAYTHE
AESTHETICSOFEARLYCOMPUTERART SnS nSOMETIMESINAMAZ
INGDETAIL2EMEMBER ATTHISPOINTINTIMEPEOPLEWEREONLYABLETO
CREATEIMAGESANDANIMATIONSTHROUGHPROGRAMMING





'ENERATION&LASH
,EV-ANOVICH


1UESTION
4HEREISNOREASONWHYSOFTWAREARTCANNOTUSEREPRESENTATIONAL
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NON REPRESENTATIONAL ABSTRACTVECTOR BASEDGRAPHICS

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TERTHEIRARRIVALAT8EROX0!2#INTHES !LAN AYANDHISASSO
CIATES CREATED A PAINT PROGRAM AN ANIMATION PROGRAM OVERLAPPING
WINDOWS ICONS 3MALLTALKANDOTHERPRINCIPLESOFMODERNINTERACTIVE
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ISIMPORTANTFORITSIDENTITYASAhPERSONALDYNAMICMEDIUMv!LAN
AY 4OPUTITDIFFERENTLY THECOMPUTERISASIMULATIONMACHINEAND
ASSUCHITCANANDSHOULDBEUSEDTOSIMULATEOTHERMEDIA
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BUT)HOPETHATTHE&LASHGENERATIONWILLEXTENDITSPROGRAMMINGWORK
TOINCLUDEREPRESENTATIONALMEDIA)NOTHERWORDS INTHEEARLYS
THE PAINT PROGRAM AND THE ANIMATION PROGRAM HAD A REVOLUTIONARY
EFFECTONPEOPLESPERCEPTIONOFTHECOMPUTER ALLOWINGTHEMTOSEEIT
LESSASANADDINGMACHINEANDMOREASACREATIVE MEDIUM.OW AF
TERALMOSTTWODECADESOFMENU BASEDMEDIAMANIPULATIONPROGRAMS
ANDTHEUSEOFCOMPUTERSASMEDIADISTRIBUTIONMACHINESGREATLYAC
CELERATEDBYTHE7ORLD7IDE7EB ALITTLEPROGRAMMINGCOULDPROVE
QUITEREVOLUTIONARY)NSHORT WEARENOWSOUSEDTOTHINKINGOFTHE
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0LEASECONSIDERHOWPROGRAMMINGHASBEENEMPLOYEDSOFARTO
CREATEUSE STILL IMAGES ANIMATION AND lLMVIDEO 4HERE ARE THREE
TRAJECTORIESTHATCANBETRACEDHISTORICALLY/NETRAJECTORYBEGINSWITH
THEEARLIESTWORKSOFCOMPUTERARTnTHElLMSTHAT/SCAR&ISHINGERS
STUDENTS MADE AT THE 7HITNEY IN THE MID  S AND THAT REPRESENT
A DIRECT LINK TO EARLY TWENTIETH CENTURY MODERNISM 4HIS TRAJECTORY
EXTENDS TO THEhSOFT MODERNISMv OF TODAYS &LASH PROJECTS AND DATA

VISUALIZATIONARTWORKS)NOTHERWORDS PROGRAMMINGISUSEDHERETO
GENERATEANDCONTROLABSTRACTIMAGES
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46DESIGNERSSTARTEDUSINGCOMPUTER GENERATEDIMAGERY#') (ERE
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ISM0ARTICLESYSTEMS FORMALGRAMMARS !)ANDOTHERSOFTWARETECH
NIQUESGENERATEDmYINGBATS HILLYLANDSCAPES OCEANWAVES EXPLOSIONS
ALIEN CREATURES AND OTHER lGURATIVE ELEMENTS 4HESE WERE INTEGRATED
INTOTHEPHOTOREALISTICUNIVERSEOFNARRATIVElLMS
7HATABOUTUSINGALGORITHMSNOTSIMPLYTOGENERATETHElGURA
TIVEELEMENTSOFANARRATIVEBUTALSOTOCONTROLTHEWHOLElCTIONALUNI
VERSE4HISISTHETHIRDTRAJECTORYPROGRAMMINGINCOMPUTERGAMES
 n  (ERE ALGORITHMS CONTROL THE NARRATIVE EVENTS CHARACTER
BEHAVIOR CAMERA MOVEMENT AND OTHER CHARACTERISTICS OF THE GAME
WORLD n ALL IN REAL TIME 5NFORTUNATELY AS WE ALL KNOW AESTHETICALLY
REVOLUTIONARY COMPUTER AND PLAYER DRIVEN GAME WORLDS FEATURE FOR
MULA DRIVENCONTENTTHATCANMAKEEVENABAD(OLLYWOODlLMAPPEAR
ORIGINALANDINSPIRING'RAND4HEFT!UTOISNOEXCEPTIONDESPITEITS
BREAKTHROUGHSINSIMULATINGAMORECOMPELLINGOPENUNIVERSE
) THINK THIS BRIEF SURVEY SHOWS THAT THERE IS STILL AN UNTOUCHED
SPACE COMPLETELY OPEN FOR EXPERIMENTATION AND CREATIVE RESEARCH A
SPACEINWHICHPROGRAMMINGCANBEUSEDTOGENERATEANDORCONTROL
lGURATIVElCTIONAL MEDIA &OR INSTANCE IN THE CASE OF MOVIES PRO
GRAMMINGCANBEUSEDTOGENERATECHARACTERSONTHEmY TOCOMPOSITE
INREAL TIMECHARACTERSSHOTAGAINSTABLUESCREENWITHBACKGROUNDS
TOCONTROLTHESEQUENCEOFSCENES TOAPPLYlLTERSTOANYSCENEINREAL
TIME TOCOMBINEPRE RECORDEDSCENESWITHIMAGERYGENERATEDONTHE
mY TOHAVECHARACTERSINTERACTWITHTHEVIEWER ETC)NSHORT PROGRAM
MINGCANBEUSEDTOCONTROLANYASPECTOFAlCTIONALMEDIAWORK








/FCOURSE ONCEINAWHILEWEENCOUNTERSIMILARPROJECTSATPLACES
LIKE3)''2!0(OR)3%! BUTTHEYARETYPICALLYRESEARCHDEMOSTHAT
HAVEBEENCREATEDATUNIVERSITIESANDDONOTREACHSOCIETYASAWHOLE
.ATURALLY ONE MAY RAISE THE OBJECTION THAT AN ALGORITHMICALLY CON
TROLLEDCOMPLEXlCTIONALUNIVERSEREQUIRESTHEKINDOFPROGRAMMING
INVESTMENT ONLY POSSIBLE IN A COMMERCIAL GAME COMPANY OR A UNI
VERSITY!FTERALL THISISNOTTHESAMEASWRITINGASCRIPTTHATDRAWSA
FEWLINESTHATKEEPMOVINGINRESPONSETOUSERINPUT9ES BUTWHYDO
lCTIONALlGURATIVEWORKSHAVETOFOLLOWCOMMERCIALMEDIAFORMULAS
)FONEACCEPTSTHATTHECHARACTERSDONOTHAVETOBEhPHOTOREALISTIC v
THATTHElCTIONALWORLDDOESNOTHAVETOBEEXCLUSIVELYTHREEDIMEN
SIONAL THATCHANCEANDRANDOMNESSCANCO EXISTWITHNARRATIVELOGIC
ANDTHATSTICKlGURESCANCO EXISTWITH$CHARACTERSANDVIDEOFOOT
AGE ETC PROGRAMMINGlGURATIONlCTIONBECOMESLESSFORMIDABLE)N
SHORT WHILE)WELCOME&LASHPROGRAMMING )THINKITISMUCHMORE
CHALLENGINGTOPROGRAM1UICK4IME




















0OSTSCRIPT/N4HE,IGHTNESSOF&LASH
7HEN)lRSTVISITEDTHEMOSTFAMOUS&LASHSITEnPRAYSTATIONNETn
)WASSTRUCKBYTHELIGHTNESSOFITSGRAPHICS1UIETERTHANAWHISPER
MORE ELEGANT THAN $OOR OR #HANNEL MORE MINIMAL THAN THE  S
MINIMALISTSCULPTURESBY*UDD MORESUBDUEDTHANAWINTERLANDSCAPE
ENSHROUDED IN FOG n THE SITE PUSHED THE CONTRAST SCALE TO THE LIMITS
OFLEGIBILITY!SIMILARLIGHTNESSANDRESTRAINTCANBEFOUNDINMANY
PROJECTSINCLUDEDINTHE"IENNALESHOW!GAIN THECONTRASTWITHTHE
SCREAMINGGRAPHICSOFCOMMERCIALMEDIAANDTHEMEDIAARTOFPREVI
OUSGENERATIONSISSTRIKING
4HELIGHTNESSOF&LASHCANBETHOUGHTOFASTHEVISUALEQUIVALENT
OFELECTRONICAMBIENTMUSIC%VERYLINEANDEVERYPIXELCOUNT&LASH
APPEALSTOOURVISUALnANDCOGNITIVEnINTELLIGENCE!FTERACENTURYOF
2'"COLOR WHICHBEGANWITH-ATISSEANDENDEDWITHTHEAGGRESSIVE
SPREADS OF 7IRED WE ARE ASKED TO START OVER TO BEGIN FROM SCRATCH
4HE&LASHGENERATIONINVITESUSTOUNDERGOAVISUALCLEANSINGnTHISIS
WHYWESEEAMONOCHROMEPALETTEOFWHITEANDLIGHTGRAY)TUSESNEO
MINIMALISMTOCUREUSFROMPOSTMODERNISM)N&LASH THERATIONALITY
OFMODERNISMISCOMBINEDWITHBOTHTHERATIONALITYOFPROGRAMMING
ANDTHEEFFECTSOFCOMPUTERGAMES ANDTHISCOMBINATIONHASCREATED
THENEWAESTHETICSOFLIGHTNESS CURIOSITYANDINTELLIGENCE-AKESURE
YOURBROWSERHASTHERIGHTPLUG INWELCOMETOTHE&LASHGENERATION
)AMNOTADVOCATINGAREVIVALOFMODERNISM)TGOESWITHOUTSAYING
THATWEDONTWANTTOSIMPLYREPLAY-ONDRIANAND LEEONOURCOM
PUTERSCREENS4HETASKOFTHENEWGENERATIONISTOINTEGRATETHETWO
KEYAESTHETICPARADIGMSOFTHETWENTIETHCENTURY BELIEFINSCIENCE
ANDRATIONALITY EMPHASISONEFlCIENCYANDBASICFORMS IDEALISMAND
THEHEROICSPIRITOFMODERNISMAND SKEPTICISM INTERESTINhMAR
GINALITYvANDhCOMPLEXITY vDECONSTRUCTIVESTRATEGIES BAROQUEOPAQUE
NESSANDTHEEXCESSESOFPOSTMODERNISM Sn !TTHISPOINTALLTHE
FEATURESOFTHESECONDPARADIGMHAVEBECOMETIREDCLICHS4HEREFORE
APARTIALRETURNTOMODERNISMISNOTABADlRSTSTEP ASLONGASITISJUST
AlRSTSTEPTOWARDDEVELOPINGNEWAESTHETICSFORTHENEWAGE



'ENERATION&LASH
,EV-ANOVICH


/FCOURSE THESEAESTHETICSSHOULDALSO REmECT THEDIFlCULTISSUES
OFGLOBALIZATION4HEREMIXCULTUREWEARELIVINGNOWISNOTONLYEN
GAGED IN REMIXING ALL PREVIOUS CULTURAL FORMS AND TEXTS BUT ALSO IN
REMIXINGVARIOUSFEATURESOFWHATUSEDTOBECALLEDhNATIONALCULTUREv
4HIS INCLUDES EXISTING REMIXES BETWEEN IMMIGRANT POPULATIONS AND
THEIR HOST CULTURES 4HE SOLUTION OFFERED BY MULTINATIONAL CONGLOM
ERATES IS OBVIOUSLY NOT SATISFACTORY n A COMPOSITE THAT TAKES CERTAIN
SIGNIlERS FROM A FEW NATIONAL CULTURES THE &RENCH IDEA OF ELEGANCE
*APANESEMANGAICONOGRAPHY hCOOL"RITANNIAvREFERENCES ANDSOON
ONLY TO INTEGRATE THEM INTO A RATHER BLAND AND MONOLITHIC TEXTTHAT
ISSENTROUNDTHEWORLD)TREMINDSMEOFA3OVIET STYLECENTRALIZED
ECONOMYINWHICHTHEOUTPUTOFALLTHECOLLECTIVEFARMSWASlRSTSENT
TOACENTRALISTAUTHORITY ONLYTOBEREDISTRIBUTEDNATIONALLY ,UCKILY
INALLCORNERSOFTHEGLOBE MUSICIANS THEATERGROUPS DANCERS DESIGN
ERS ARCHITECTSANDSOONAREEXPLORINGAVARIETYOFREMIXESTHATFOLLOW
A DIFFERENT LOGIC .OBODY KNOWS WHAT WILL EMERGE FROM THIS GLOBAL
CULTURALLABORATORYnANDTHISISWHATMAKESOURTIMESSOINTERESTING
!LTHOUGH MOST OF MY ARGUMENTS IN THIS PAPER ARE ABOUT VISUAL
CULTUREANDVISUALAESTHETICS ITISIMPORTANTATTHISPOINTTOEVOKEA
DIFFERENTPRACTICE-USICHASHISTORICALLYBEENTHEARTISTIClELDTHATHAS
ALWAYSBEENAHEADOFOTHERlELDSINTHEUSEOFCOMPUTERSTOMAKEPOS
SIBLENEWAESTHETICPARADIGMS!CTIVITIESINTHElELDOFPOPULARELEC
TRONIC MUSIC OVER THE LAST THREE DECADES TESTIFY TO HOW EMPOWERING
NEW TECHNOLOGIES CAN BE IN WELDING NEW COMPLEX AND RICH REMIXES
BETWEENDIFFERENTCULTURES STYLESANDSENSIBILITIES7ITHOUTELECTRONIC
ANDCOMPUTINGTECHNOLOGIESnFROMTURNTABLESANDTAPERECORDERSTO
PEER TO PEERlLESHARINGNETWORKSANDMUSICSYNTHESISSOFTWAREONA
REGULARLAPTOPnMANYASPECTSOFTHISCULTUREWOULDNEVEREXIST7ITH
ITSMULTITUDINOUSVOICESANDAREALBOTTOM UPhEMERGENTvLOGIC THE
lELDOFELECTRONICSOUNDWHICHPRETTYMUCHMEANSANYSOUNDTODAY
ISAPOWERFULALTERNATIVETOTHEhTOP DOWNvCULTURALCOMPOSITESSOLD
BY GLOBAL MEDIA CONGLOMERATES AROUND THE WORLD ,ET US HOPE THAT
ARTISTSANDDESIGNERSINOTHERlELDSWILLFOLLOWMUSICSLEADINUSINGA
COMPUTERTOMAKEPOSSIBLESIMILARLYRICHREMIXCULTURES






































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