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characteristics with what we normally regard as like alphabetic characters, colours or
art-making behaviour. Let us now look at the instructions. The computer is a general-purpose
computer itself, and then examine what some of symbol-manipulating machine, and it is capable
these characteristics may be. of dealing with any problem which can be given
There is an increasing diversity in computer a symbolic representation. If its accelerating use
design today. At one end of the spectrum in our society rests upon its remarkable
machines are getting smaller, at the other end versatility, then its versatility rests in part upon
they are getting much, much bigger; at both the fact that a very large number of problems —
ends they are becoming much faster. Yet it much larger than you might suspect — do indeed
remains reasonable to talk about 'the machine' lend themselves to symbolic, even numerical,
because, big or small, fast or slow, all computers representation.
do much the same things, and consist, The on-off switch might not seem too
diagrammatically at least, of the same parts. Part promising as a device for counting, since it can
Figure
The Hewlett Packard 2 100 A computer is a small, of it, usually called the Input/Output Unit, only record 'zero' — off, or 'one' — on. But a race
fast, general purpose machine characteristic of the takes care of its communication with the world of creatures with two-hundred and seventy-nine
`minis' now on the market
outside itself. Part, as you probably know, is fingers might consider our own ten-position-
used for storage — it is the computer's 'memory'. switch system pretty limiting also. We still need
rather to propose a structure which can be seen,
as a whole, to account for the things the artist
does. The notion of Purpose might then
reasonably be thought to characterize that
structure, as a whole.
In what terms, then, would it be possible to
maintain that the use of the computer might
`advance the artist's Purpose' ? Any claim based
upon the evidence that 'art' has been produced
would need to be examined with some care, and
in the absence of any firm agreement as to what
is acceptable as art we would probably want to
see, at least, that the 'art' had some very
fundamental characteristics in common with
what we ordinarily view as art. This could not
be done only on the basis of its physical
characteristics : merely looking like an existing
art object would not do. We would rather want
to see it demonstrated that the machine
behaviour which resulted in the 'art' had
fundamental characteristics in common with
what we know of art-making behaviour.
This is already coming close to a more
speculative position: that the use of the machine
might be considered to advance the artist's The 'operations room' of the whole machine, to add a second switch to get up to 99, a third
Purpose if, following the earlier argument, it appropriately enough called the Central to get up to 999, and so on. Whatever 'base' you
could be seen that this use might itself generate, Processing Unit (CPU), is concerned with the use for counting, how high you can count
or at least update, an appropriate notion of processing of the stuff the machine handles, and depends upon how many switches — each with
structure. for shifting this stuff around inside the machine. the 'base' number of positions — you put
In either of these cases, it must be clear that If you think of 'memory' as a very long string together. When the 'base' is two, you will need a
my definitions have much in common with the of numbered boxes, or cells, then the CPU large number of switches to get very far, but
curious way in which we ordinarily make our looks after the business of storing things in the each of them need only have two positions — on
definitions of art. We would probably agree, cells, labelling the cells, keeping up an index of or off: obviously an ideal situation for counting
simply on the evidence that we see around us where all the labels in use are to be found, electrically. (Fig. 3.)
today, that the artist considers one of his retrieving the contents of cells with particular If you were to take a somewhat less
functions to be the redefinition of the notion of labels, and so on. metaphorical look at those little cells in the
art.2 Or we might say that the artist uses art in What are these 'things', this 'stuff' the computer's memory, you would see that each
some way to redefine, i.e. modify himself. But machine handles ? There are different ways of one was in fact a string of switches. Most small
since he is the agency which is responsible for answering this question, and their relationship modern computers have adopted sixteen as a
the art process which effects the modification, demonstrates one of the most significant features standard, though not all : and you can figure out
we could restate this : the artist who uses art to of the computer. Physically speaking, what the that this sixteen-switch cell — or 'sixteen-bit
modify the artist who uses art to modify. . . . machine handles is pulses of electrical current, word', to use the jargon — will be able to hold
These are recursive3 structures. I think it will which are triggered by switches, and in turn any number up to 216-I. In a very rough sense,
become evident in due course that my trigger other switches. But the configurations the size of the machine is measured by how
definition of Purpose is recursive also; and the into which the switches are set actually many of these words it has in its memory, and
balance of this article may suggest that it has, in represent numbers, and the numbers represent its speed by how long it takes to retrieve one.
fact, been generated by my use of the machine. . . . well, just about anything that can be There would probably be between four and
For the moment, though, I propose to adopt the represented numerically : quantities, thirty-two thousand sixteen-bit words in a
earlier position, and to argue that the machine's dimensions and values obviously, but also small machine : up to a quarter of a million sixty-
behaviour shares some very fundamental anything which can be given a numerical code, four-bit words in a big one. (Fig. 4.)

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