CiAo (Code in Art Out) is a series of generative artworks which include source-code as part of the aesthetic object.

More information / artworks at https://qr2a.xyz

High-level computer code is a representational language of mathematical logic from which seemingly infinite complexity can arise. Stemming from the most basic logic of 1 and 0, on and off, true and false, code’s purpose is to abstract fundamental digital operations into a human-readable and understandable form by leveraging the conventions of language and mathematics. The complexity which arises out of simple rules weaved together creates beauty from this conceptual yet constrained instruction set, much as how nature makes grand structures from numerous discrete units within the bounds of physics.

CiAo (code in, art out) is a series of artworks which explore the magnificent complexity of code arising from simple rules, by not only exhibiting the resultant rendering, but also by including the usually concealed generative code itself as part of the aesthetic object. These works also explore questions surrounding digital artwork such as: ownership, modern copyright and authorship, sharing and decentralized networks, blockchain and cryptographic authenticness, the archival (or conversely, disposable) nature of digital and intangible works, editions within generations of outputs and artistic control of aesthetic output.

Over 53% of the world’s population has access to a web browser, The consequence of this is that most people can run HTML and JavaScript programs without any sort of coding knowledge. HTML stands for “Hyper Text Markup Language” and was the first “coding” language of the internet first released in 1993. It is the method for which webpages are made. Later on in the internet’s history, the need arose for a more complex and flexible programming language, which was JavaScript in 1995. Currently, all modern web browsers support HTML and JavaScript, which means that if one knows how to use a web browser, they can run the code based on these languages. CiAo is written in HTML5 and ECMAScript (a type of JavaScript).

MetaLab at Harvard University lecture about the series