Timothy Binkley
Encyclopedia
Timothy Binkley is an American philosopher, artist
, and teacher
, known for his radical writings about conceptual art
and aesthetics
, as well as several essays that help define computer art
. He is also known for his interactive art
installations.
at University of Colorado at Boulder
, earning a B.A. (1965) and an M.A. (1966). His Ph.D. in philosophy
, from University of Texas at Austin
(1970), explored Ludwig Wittgenstein
’s use of language.
Binkley has lectured and taught at several colleges and universities in the United States, most notably at School of Visual Arts
where he initiated the MFA Computer Art program, the first of its kind in the country. In 1992, he founded the New York Digital Salon, an international exhibition of computer art.
He has exhibited his interactive art
in the United States, Europe, South America, and Asia.
Binkley argues that the computer is neither a medium nor a tool, since both media and tools have inherent characteristics that can be explored through an artist’s gestures or physical events for mark-making. Instead, the computer is a chameleon-like or even promiscuous assistant, whose services can be applied to any number of tasks and whose capabilities can be defined endlessly from application to application. Binkley refers to the computer as a non-specific technology and an incorporeal metamedium. Yet the computer contains phenomena not found in other media: namely, a conceptual space where symbolic content can be modified using mathematical abstractions. The notion of an “original” and its consequent value are considered irrelevant, obsolete, or inapplicable to computer art.
Binkley’s philosophy extends beyond art and aesthetics to culture itself, whose foundations he believes we are overhauling through our involvement with computers.
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
, and teacher
Teacher
A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...
, known for his radical writings about conceptual art
Conceptual art
Conceptual art is art in which the concept or idea involved in the work take precedence over traditional aesthetic and material concerns. Many of the works, sometimes called installations, of the artist Sol LeWitt may be constructed by anyone simply by following a set of written instructions...
and aesthetics
Aesthetics
Aesthetics is a branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of beauty, art, and taste, and with the creation and appreciation of beauty. It is more scientifically defined as the study of sensory or sensori-emotional values, sometimes called judgments of sentiment and taste...
, as well as several essays that help define computer art
Computer art
Computer art is any art in which computers play a role in production or display of the artwork. Such art can be an image, sound, animation, video, CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, videogame, web site, algorithm, performance or gallery installation...
. He is also known for his interactive art
Interactive art
Interactive art is a form of installation-based art that involves the spectator in a way that allows the art to achieve its purpose. Some installations achieve this by letting the observer or visitor "walk" in, on, and around them; Some others ask the artist to become part of the artwork.Works of...
installations.
Biography
Timothy Binkley studied mathematicsMathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
at University of Colorado at Boulder
University of Colorado at Boulder
The University of Colorado Boulder is a public research university located in Boulder, Colorado...
, earning a B.A. (1965) and an M.A. (1966). His Ph.D. in philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
, from University of Texas at Austin
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...
(1970), explored Ludwig Wittgenstein
Ludwig Wittgenstein
Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein was an Austrian philosopher who worked primarily in logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy of language. He was professor in philosophy at the University of Cambridge from 1939 until 1947...
’s use of language.
Binkley has lectured and taught at several colleges and universities in the United States, most notably at School of Visual Arts
School of Visual Arts
The School of Visual Arts , is a proprietary art school located in Manhattan, New York City, and is widely considered to be one of the leading art schools in the United States. It was established in 1947 by co-founders Silas H. Rhodes and Burne Hogarth as the Cartoonists and Illustrators School and...
where he initiated the MFA Computer Art program, the first of its kind in the country. In 1992, he founded the New York Digital Salon, an international exhibition of computer art.
He has exhibited his interactive art
Interactive art
Interactive art is a form of installation-based art that involves the spectator in a way that allows the art to achieve its purpose. Some installations achieve this by letting the observer or visitor "walk" in, on, and around them; Some others ask the artist to become part of the artwork.Works of...
in the United States, Europe, South America, and Asia.
Philosophy
Binkley postulates that twentieth century art is a strongly self-critical discipline, which creates ideas free of traditional piece-specifying conventions including aesthetic parameters and qualities. The artwork is a piece, and a piece isn’t necessarily an aesthetic object—or an object at all. Binkley states that anything that can be thought about or referred to can be labeled an artwork by an artist.Binkley argues that the computer is neither a medium nor a tool, since both media and tools have inherent characteristics that can be explored through an artist’s gestures or physical events for mark-making. Instead, the computer is a chameleon-like or even promiscuous assistant, whose services can be applied to any number of tasks and whose capabilities can be defined endlessly from application to application. Binkley refers to the computer as a non-specific technology and an incorporeal metamedium. Yet the computer contains phenomena not found in other media: namely, a conceptual space where symbolic content can be modified using mathematical abstractions. The notion of an “original” and its consequent value are considered irrelevant, obsolete, or inapplicable to computer art.
Binkley’s philosophy extends beyond art and aesthetics to culture itself, whose foundations he believes we are overhauling through our involvement with computers.
Books
- Symmetry Studio: Computer-Aided Surface Design. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1992. With John F. Simon Jr.John F. Simon Jr.John F. Simon Jr. , is a new media artist who works with LCD screens and computer programming. He currently lives and works in New York....
. Includes surface design software on CD. - Wittgenstein's Language. The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, 1973.
Articles
- “A Philosophy of Computer Art by Lopes, Dominic McIver”, Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism 68(4), (2010): 409-411.
- "Autonomous Creations: Birthing Intelligent Agents", Leonardo, 31(5), Sixth Annual New York Digital Salon, (1998): 333-336.
- "The Vitality of Digital Creation", The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, 55(2), Perspectives on the Arts and Technology. (Spring, 1997): 107-116.
- "Computer Art" and "Digital Media", Encyclopedia of Aesthetics, New York: Oxford University Press, 1998. 1:412-414, 2:47-50.
- "Personalities at the Salon of Digits", Leonardo 29(5), Special Issue "The Fourth Annual New York Digital Salon," (1996): 337-338.
- “Transparent Technology: The Swan Song of Electronics", Leonardo, 28(5), Special Issue “The Third Annual New York Digital Salon” (1995): 427-432.
- "Creating Symmetric Patterns with Objects and Lists", Symmetry: Culture and Science, 6(1), (1995).
- "Refiguring Culture", Future Visions: New Technologies of the Screen, London: British Film Institute Publications, (1993): 90-122.
- "The Quickening of Galatea: Virtual Creation Without Tools or Media", (Fall, 1990) Art Journal, 49(3): 233-240.
- "Digital Dilemmas", Leonardo, Supplemental Issue, Vol. 3, "Digital Image, Digital Cinema: SIGGRAPH '90 Art Show Catalog" (1990): 13-19.
- "Postmodern Torrents", Millennium Film Journal, 23/24 (Winter 1990-91): 130-141.
- "The Wizard of Ethereal Pictures and Virtual Places", Leonardo, Supplemental Issue, Vol. 2, "Computer Art in Context: SIGGRAPH '89 Art Show Catalog" (1989): pp. 13–20.
- "Paradoxes of Interactivity", New Observations, 71 (October/November 1989) "Interactivity Here to Stay". A German translation with more illustrations appears as "Paradoxien der Interaktion", Im Netz der Systeme, Kunstforum International., Band 103, (September/Oktober, 1989): 220.
- "Medium or Tool?", Computer Graphics World, (February, 1989).
- "The Computer is Not a Medium", Philosophic Exchange (Fall/Winter, 1988/89). Reprinted in EDB & kunstfag, Rapport Nr. 48, NAVFs EDB-Senter for Humanistisk Forskning. Translated as "L'ordinateur n'est pas un médium", Esthétique des arts médiatiques, Sainte-Foy, Québec: Presses de l'Université du Québec, 1995.
- "Camera Fantasia: Computed Visions of Virtual Realities", Millennium Film Journal, 20/21 (Fall/Winter, 1988/89): 6-43.
- "Does Art Compute? The Myths, the Madness, and the Magic", Art & Academe, A Journal for the Humanities and Sciences in the Education of Artists (Fall, 1988).
- "Computed Space", National Computer Graphics Association Conference Proceedings, (1987): 643-652.
- "Piece: Contra Aesthetics", Philosophy Looks at the Arts: Contemporary Readings in Aesthetics, 3rd Ed., edited by Joseph MargolisJoseph MargolisJoseph Zalman Margolis is an American philosopher. A radical historicist, he has published many books critical of the central assumptions of Western philosophy, and has elaborated a robust form of relativism....
, (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1987). Originally published in The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, 35(3), (Spring 1977): 265-277. A French translation appeared in Poétique 79 (Septembre, 1989) and has been collected in Esthétique et Poétique, edited by Gérard Genette, (Paris: Éditions du Seuil, 1992). Also anthologized in The Philosophy of the Visual Arts, edited by Philip Alperson (New York: Oxford University Press, 1990), and A Question of Art, edited by Benjamin F. Ward, (Florence, KY: Brenael Publishing, 1994). - "Conceptual Art: Appearance and Reality", Art In Culture, 1, edited by A. Balis, L. Aagaard-Mogensen, R. Pinxten, F. Vandamme (Ghent, Belgium: Communication & Cognition Publishers, 1985). Proceedings of the Ghent colloquium "Art in Culture."
- "On the Truth and Probity of Metaphor", Philosophical Perspectives on Metaphor, Edited by Mark Johnson (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1981). Originally published in The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, 33(2), (1974): 171-180.
- "The Principle of Expressibility", Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, 39(3), (1979): 307-325.
- "Deciding About Art", Culture and Art, edited by Lars Aagaard-Mogensen (Atlantic Highlands, NJ: Humanities Press, 1976): 90–109.
- "Consensus and the Justification of Force," Reason and Violence: Philosophical Investigations by Sherman M. Stanage, (Totowa, NJ: Littlefield Adams, 1974): 123-141.
- "Real and Pretend", Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, 34(4), (1971): 560-568.
- "On Reading Investigations § 43", Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, 31(3), (1971): 429-432.
- "Langer's Logical and Ontological Modes", The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, 28(4), (1970): 455-464.
- "The Consistency of Positivist and Realist Views of Law," The Personalist: An International Review of Philosophy, 51(2), (Winter 1970): 85-98.
Exhibitions
- Rest Rooms, interactive telecommunications installation with video-conferenced computers, exhibited at SIGGRAPH ’94 in Orlando, FL., Wexner Center for the ArtsWexner Center for the ArtsThe Wexner Center for the Arts is The Ohio State University’s multidisciplinary, international laboratory for the exploration and advancement of contemporary art...
in Columbus, OH (April 1–30, 1995), Schloss Agathenberg in Germany (September 24 - November 26, 1995), Schloß Arolsen in Germany (February 24 - April 14, 1996).
- Books of Change, interactive computer installation exhibited in “Tomorrow’s Realities”, SIGGRAPH 1994. Included in the "Multimedia Playground" at the ExploratoriumExploratoriumThe Exploratorium is a museum in San Francisco with over 475 participatory exhibits, all of them made onsite, that mix science and art. It also aims to promote museums as informal education centers....
in San Francisco (February 12 - March 13, 1994). Exhibited at the Hong Kong Arts CentreHong Kong Arts CentreEstablished in 1977, Hong Kong Arts Centre is a non-profit making, non-governmental and self-financed statutory arts organization, aiming at promoting contemporary performing arts, visual arts, film and video arts and providing lifelong and wide-reaching arts education.The Centre provides...
in Hong Kong (June 26–29, 1994), the Central Academy of Art and Design in Beijing (July 4–8, 1994), and Camera Obscura in Tel Aviv (October 16–20, 1994).
- Watch Yourself, interactive computer installation. Included in "Tomorrow's Realities" exhibit at SIGGRAPH '91 in Las Vegas (July 29 - August 2, 1991). Exhibited at the National Conference on Computing and Values, New Haven (August 12–16, 1991). Accepted for Ars ElectronicaArs ElectronicaArs Electronica is an organization based in Linz, Austria, founded in 1979 around a festival for art, technology and society that was part of the International Bruckner Festival. Herbert W. Franke is one of its founders. It became its own festival and a yearly event in 1986. Its director until 1995...
in Linz, Austria (1992). Exhibited at VideobrasilVideobrasilIn 1983, despite the fact that electronic art had just arrived in Brazil, Associação Cultural Videobrasil organized the first edition of what would later become the International Electronic Art Festival, directed by Solange Farkas, gathering a whole generation of Brazilian pioneers...
International Videofestival in São Paulo (September 21–27, 1992). Exhibited at Digital Jambalaya in New York City (November 16 - December 1, 1992) in conjunction with the international TRIP ‘92 event. Demonstration tape included on Computer Graphics Access ‘89-’92 videodisks (Bunkensha: Tokyo, 1992); Electronic Dictionary videodisks (G.R.A.M.: Montréal, 1993). Exhibited at Images du Futur in Montréal (May 13 - September 19, 1993). Exhibited at Vidéoformes in France (April 6–23, 1994). Shown at the Solomon R. Guggenheim MuseumSolomon R. Guggenheim MuseumThe Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum is a well-known museum located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States. It is the permanent home to a renowned collection of Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, early Modern, and contemporary art and also features special exhibitions...
in New York City (June 2, 1994). Included in "Art for the End of the Century: Art and Technology" at the Reading Public MuseumReading Public MuseumThe Reading Public Museum, in West Reading, Pennsylvania, has displays featuring science and civilizations, a planetarium and a arboretum. It also offers educational programs for families, adults and children, and a yearly cultural festival....
(July 23, 1995 - January 1, 1996). Exhibited at ciberfestival 96 in Lisbon, Portugal (February 9 - March 17, 1996). Permanent installation at Tempozan Contemporary Museum in Osaka, Japan (opened in September, 1996).