Computer Arts Society trip to Bletchley Park – Monday 28 May 2012

In celebration of ALAN TURNING YEAR I am organising a special trip sponsored by the Computer Arts Society to Bletchley Park and the National Museum of Computing. You are invited to join what I’m sure will be a fascinating day in the company of like-minded arts people.

The tour (10.30am to 5.15pm approx) costs £17.00 and includes: Morning tea/coffee & biscuits on arrival. Tour of the Bletchley campus and buildings with their guide. A sandwich lunch. A chance to view Colossus and other interesting items in the National Museum of Computing on a short visit (including Ele Carpenter’s Html Patchwork). Afternoon tea, coffee & cake.

Please make your own travel arrangements to arrive by 10.15 for a 10.30 start. There is a direct train from Euston. Bletchley train station is 300 yards from the entrance to the Park  for more travel info see: http://www.bletchleypark.org/content/visit/findus.rhtm

There is a maximum of 50 spaces available on this trip, so please sign up ASAP!  Contact me to register your name and contact details (email & mobile number).

This trip is being generously subsidised by the Computer Arts Society and is run as a non-profit event.

Art takes place outside of the machine – Charles Csuri

Charles Csuri Different from Us, frame 001, war16 series, 2012, Linus environment and AL
Charles Csuri Different from Us, frame 001, war16 series, 2012, Linus environment and AL

This striking new work by one of the great pioneers of computer art Charles A. Csuri, references and expands one of his original ideas Random War, a plotter drawing created in 1966.  Random War (2012), is a new online version which uses gaming logics and the Internet to re-create a hypothetical war, based on our own friends, with people wounded, dead, awarded medals or missing in action, using names gleaned from our Facebook account. There is a delicious irony in using technology originally designed for defense purposes to create art that speaks to the consequences of such use. This art work is a powerful comment on the human cost of war and a stark reminder that every conflict has an after effect. Full article here: http://www.bcs.org/content/conWebDoc/44253