Programmed: Rules, Codes, and Choreographies in Art, 1965–2018
Sept 28, 2018–Apr 14, 2019
Programmed: Rules, Codes, and Choreographies in Art, 1965–2018 establishes connections between works of art based on instructions, spanning over fifty years of conceptual, video, and computational art. The pieces in the exhibition are all “programmed” using instructions, sets of rules, and code, but they also address the use of programming in their creation. The exhibition links two strands of artistic exploration: the first examines the program as instructions, rules, and algorithms with a focus on conceptual art practices and their emphasis on ideas as the driving force behind the art; the second strand engages with the use of instructions and algorithms to manipulate the TV program, its apparatus, and signals or image sequences. Featuring works drawn from the Whitney’s collection, Programmed looks back at predecessors of computational art and shows how the ideas addressed in those earlier works have evolved in contemporary artistic practices. At a time when our world is increasingly driven by automated systems, Programmed traces how rules and instructions in art have both responded to and been shaped by technologies, resulting in profound changes to our image culture.
The exhibition is organized by Christiane Paul, Adjunct Curator of Digital Art, and Carol Mancusi-Ungaro, Melva Bucksbaum Associate Director for Conservation and Research, with Clémence White, curatorial assistant.
Please be warned this exhibition includes video and projection with a flashing light effect.
Programmed: Rules, Codes, and Choreographies in Art, 1965–2018 is sponsored by Audi
Major support is provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
Generous support is provided by the Carl & Marilynn Thoma Art Foundation, the Korea Foundation and the Jon and Mary Shirley Foundation.
Additional support is provided by Hearst.
In-kind support is provided by the Hakuta Family.
Rule, Instruction, Algorithm:
Collapsing Instruction and Form
3
Lawrence Weiner and Joseph Kosuth, both leading figures of Conceptual art, use language as their material to highlight the linguistic nature of all art and to shift emphasis from the object to the idea behind it. W. Bradford Paley’s more recent digital work also makes language its material but by displaying the code that generates his work. The pieces by these three artists all consist of the very instructions through which they have been created, self-reflexively erasing oppositions between form and content and folding them into one. Paley’s work draws attention to the fact that digital art—regardless of its visual appearance—always has a layer of code and is produced by the software used to create or manipulate it.
W. Bradford Paley, CodeProfiles, 2002
CodeProfiles looks at the computer program as text and visually comments on how code is read by people, written by programmers, and executed by computers. Reflecting on its own construction, the work consists of the code that makes the code visible on the screen. Three points in code space are indicated: the amber line follows the fixation point, tracing how people might read the text, line by line; the white line follows the insertion point and flows like the programmer’s thoughts, calmly in one place then jumping around to make other parts of the code perform; and the green line moves along the execution point of the program, creating wide swaths where the code was executed thousands of times and appearing as a thin thread where the processor rarely visited. W. Bradford Paley thereby foregrounds the conceptual nature of all digital art, which is always driven by a language formulating instructions.
Events
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Sat,
May 11
Ethics of Looking
4:30 pm
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Sat,
May 4
Ethics of Looking
4:30 pm
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Sat,
Apr 27
Ethics of Looking
4:30 pm
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Sat,
Apr 6
Whitney Signs: Programmed: Rules, Codes, and Choreographies in Art, 1965–2018
4–6 pm
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Thurs,
Mar 28
Member Night
7:30–10 pm
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Fri,
Mar 22
Verbal Description and Touch Tour: Programmed: Rules, Codes, and Choreographies in Art, 1965–2018
10–11:30 am
Essay
Histories of the Digital Now
By Christiane Paul, adjunct curator of digital art
Walk into any given gallery or museum today, and one will presumably encounter work that used digital technologies as a tool at some point in its production, whether videos that were filmed and edited using digital cameras and post-production software, sculptures designed using computer-aided design, or photographs as digital prints, to name just a few examples.
Audio guides
Nam June Paik (1932-2006), Fin de Siècle II, 1989. Seven-channel video installation (partially restored), 207 televisions, sound, 168 × 480 × 60 in. (426.7 × 1219.2 × 152.4 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; gift of Laila and Thurston Twigg-Smith 93.139. © Nam June Paik Estate
“The hope was for me as an artist to lose control, and to have my control exist at the level of setting up the experiment.” —Ian Cheng
Hear directly from artists and curators on selected works from Programmed: Rules, Codes, and Choreographies in Art, 1965–2018.
Installation Photography
Installation view of Programmed: Rules, Codes, and Choreographies in Art, 1965–2018 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 28, 2018–April 14, 2019). Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Programmed: Rules, Codes, and Choreographies in Art, 1965–2018 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 28, 2018–April 14, 2019). From left to right, top to bottom: Josef Albers, Homage to the Square V, 1967; Josef Albers, Homage to the Square IX, 1967; Josef Albers, Homage to the Square XII, 1967; Josef Albers, Homage to the Square X, 1967; Josef Albers, Variant V, 1966; Josef Albers, Variant VI, 1966; Josef Albers, Variant X, 1966; Josef Albers, Variant IV, 1966; Josef Albers, Variant II, 1966; Josef Albers, Variant VII, 1966; John F. Simon Jr., Color Panel v1.0, 1999; Sol LeWitt, Five Towers, 1986; Casey Reas, {Software} Structure #003 A, 2004 and 2016; Donald Judd, Untitled, 1965. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Programmed: Rules, Codes, and Choreographies in Art, 1965–2018 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 28, 2018–April 14, 2019). From left to right, top to bottom: Ian Cheng, Baby feat. Ikaria, 2013; Josef Albers, Homage to the Square V, 1967; Josef Albers, Homage to the Square IX, 1967; Josef Albers, Homage to the Square XII, 1967; Josef Albers, Homage to the Square X, 1967; Josef Albers, Variant V, 1966; Josef Albers, Variant VI, 1966; Josef Albers, Variant X, 1966; Josef Albers, Variant IV, 1966; Josef Albers, Variant II, 1966; Josef Albers, Variant VII, 1966; John F. Simon Jr., Color Panel v1.0, 1999; Casey Reas, {Software} Structure #003 A, 2004 and 2016; Casey Reas, {Software} Structure #003 B, 2004 and 2016; Donald Judd, Untitled, 1965; Sol LeWitt, Five Towers, 1986. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Programmed: Rules, Codes, and Choreographies in Art, 1965–2018 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 28, 2018–April 14, 2019). Donald Judd, Untitled, 1965. Photograph by Ron Amstutz. © 2020 Judd Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Installation view of Programmed: Rules, Codes, and Choreographies in Art, 1965–2018 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 28, 2018–April 14, 2019). From left to right, top to bottom: Josef Albers, Homage to the Square V, 1967; Josef Albers, Homage to the Square IX, 1967; Josef Albers, Homage to the Square XII, 1967; Josef Albers, Homage to the Square X, 1967; Josef Albers, Variant V, 1966; Josef Albers, Variant VI, 1966; Josef Albers, Variant X, 1966; Josef Albers, Variant IV, 1966; Josef Albers, Variant II, 1966; Josef Albers, Variant VII, 1966; John F. Simon Jr., Color Panel v1.0, 1999. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Programmed: Rules, Codes, and Choreographies in Art, 1965–2018 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 28, 2018–April 14, 2019). From left to right: Casey Reas, {Software} Structure #003 A, 2004 and 2016; Casey Reas, {Software} Structure #003 B, 2004 and 2016; Sol LeWitt, 4th Wall: 24 lines from the center, 12 lines from the midpoint of each of the sides, 12 lines from each corner, 1976. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Programmed: Rules, Codes, and Choreographies in Art, 1965–2018 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 28, 2018–April 14, 2019). Sol LeWitt, 4th wall: 24 lines from the center, 12 lines from the midpoint of each of the sides, 12 lines from each corner, 1976, from Wall Drawing #289. Photograph by Ron Amstutz. © 2020 Sol LeWitt/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Programmed: Rules, Codes, and Choreographies in Art, 1965–2018 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 28, 2018–April 14, 2019). From left to right: Sol LeWitt and Lucinda Childs, Dance #4, 1979; Casey Reas, Sol LeWitt Wall Drawing #358, 2004 and 2016; Lucinda Childs, Philip Glass, and Sol LeWitt, Dance, 1979 and 2014. On floor, left to right: Lucinda Childs, Dance #1, 1979; Lucinda Childs, Dance #2, 1979; Lucinda Childs, Dance #3, 1979; Lucinda Childs, Dance #4, 1979; Lucinda Childs, Dance #5, 1979. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Programmed: Rules, Codes, and Choreographies in Art, 1965–2018 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 28, 2018–April 14, 2019). From left to right: Sol LeWitt and Lucinda Childs, Dance #4, 1979; Casey Reas, Sol LeWitt Wall Drawing #358, 2004 and 2016; Lucinda Childs, Philip Glass, and Sol LeWitt, Dance, 1979 and 2014. On floor, left to right: Lucinda Childs, Dance #1, 1979; Lucinda Childs, Dance #2, 1979; Lucinda Childs, Dance #3, 1979; Lucinda Childs, Dance #4, 1979; Lucinda Childs, Dance #5, 1979. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Programmed: Rules, Codes, and Choreographies in Art, 1965–2018 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 28, 2018–April 14, 2019). From left to right: Sol LeWitt and Lucinda Childs, Dance #4, 1979; Casey Reas, Sol LeWitt Wall Drawing #358, 2004 and 2016; Lucinda Childs, Philip Glass, and Sol LeWitt, Dance, 1979 and 2014. On floor, left to right: Lucinda Childs, Dance #1, 1979; Lucinda Childs, Dance #2, 1979; Lucinda Childs, Dance #3, 1979; Lucinda Childs, Dance #4, 1979; Lucinda Childs, Dance #5, 1979. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Programmed: Rules, Codes, and Choreographies in Art, 1965–2018 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 28, 2018–April 14, 2019). From left to right: Sol LeWitt and Lucinda Childs, Dance #4, 1979; Casey Reas, Sol LeWitt Wall Drawing #358, 2004 and 2016; Lucinda Childs, Philip Glass, and Sol LeWitt, Dance, 1979 and 2014. On floor, left to right: Lucinda Childs, Dance #1, 1979; Lucinda Childs, Dance #2, 1979; Lucinda Childs, Dance #3, 1979; Lucinda Childs, Dance #4, 1979; Lucinda Childs, Dance #5, 1979. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Programmed: Rules, Codes, and Choreographies in Art, 1965–2018 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 28, 2018–April 14, 2019). From left to right: Sol LeWitt and Lucinda Childs, Dance #4, 1979; Casey Reas, Sol LeWitt Wall Drawing #358, 2004 and 2016; Lucinda Childs, Philip Glass, and Sol LeWitt, Dance, 1979 and 2014. On floor, left to right: Lucinda Childs, Dance #1, 1979; Lucinda Childs, Dance #2, 1979; Lucinda Childs, Dance #3, 1979; Lucinda Childs, Dance #4, 1979; Lucinda Childs, Dance #5, 1979. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Programmed: Rules, Codes, and Choreographies in Art, 1965–2018 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 28, 2018–April 14, 2019). From left to right: Sol LeWitt and Lucinda Childs, Dance #4, 1979; Casey Reas, Sol LeWitt Wall Drawing #358, 2004 and 2016; Lucinda Childs, Philip Glass, and Sol LeWitt, Dance, 1979 and 2014. On floor, left to right: Lucinda Childs, Dance #1, 1979; Lucinda Childs, Dance #2, 1979; Lucinda Childs, Dance #3, 1979; Lucinda Childs, Dance #4, 1979; Lucinda Childs, Dance #5, 1979. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Programmed: Rules, Codes, and Choreographies in Art, 1965–2018 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 28, 2018–April 14, 2019). From left to right: Lucinda Childs, Philip Glass, and Sol LeWitt, Dance, 1979 and 2014; Lucinda Childs, Dance #1, 1979; Lucinda Childs, Dance #2, 1979; Lucinda Childs, Dance #3, 1979; Rafaël Rozendaal, Abstract Browsing 17 03 05 (Google), 2017; Casey Reas, {Software} Structure #003 A, 2004 and 2016; Casey Reas, {Software} Structure #003 B, 2004 and 2016. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Programmed: Rules, Codes, and Choreographies in Art, 1965–2018 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 28, 2018–April 14, 2019). From left to right: Lucinda Childs, Philip Glass, and Sol LeWitt, Dance, 1979 and 2014; Lucinda Childs, Dance #1, 1979; Lucinda Childs, Dance #2, 1979; Lucinda Childs, Dance #3, 1979; Rafaël Rozendaal, Abstract Browsing 17 03 05 (Google), 2017; Casey Reas, {Software} Structure #003 A, 2004 and 2016; Casey Reas, {Software} Structure #003 B, 2004 and 2016. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Programmed: Rules, Codes, and Choreographies in Art, 1965–2018 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 28, 2018–April 14, 2019). From left to right: Sol LeWitt and Lucinda Childs, Dance #4, 1979; Casey Reas, Sol LeWitt Wall Drawing #358, 2004 and 2016; Lucinda Childs, Philip Glass, and Sol LeWitt, Dance, 1979 and 2014; Lucinda Childs, Dance #5, 1979; Nam June Paik, Fin de Siècle II, 1989 (partially restored, 2018); Rafaël Rozendaal, Abstract Browsing 17 03 05 (Google), 2017. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Programmed: Rules, Codes, and Choreographies in Art, 1965–2018 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 28, 2018–April 14, 2019). From left to right, top to bottom: Nam June Paik, Fin de Siècle II, 1989 (partially restored, 2018); Josef Albers, Homage to the Square V, 1967; Josef Albers, Homage to the Square IX, 1967; Josef Albers, Homage to the Square XII, 1967; Josef Albers, Homage to the Square X, 1967; Josef Albers, Variant V, 1966; Josef Albers, Variant VI, 1966; Josef Albers, Variant X, 1966; Josef Albers, Variant IV, 1966; Josef Albers, Variant II, 1966; Josef Albers, Variant VII, 1966; John F. Simon Jr., Color Panel v1.0, 1999; Rafaël Rozendaal, Abstract Browsing 17 03 05 (Google), 2017. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Programmed: Rules, Codes, and Choreographies in Art, 1965–2018 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 28, 2018–April 14, 2019). From left to right, top to bottom: Charles Csuri, Sine Curve Man, 1967; Joan Truckenbrod, Curvilinear Perspective, 1979; Joan Truckenbrod, Coded Algorithmic Drawing (#9), 1975; Joan Truckenbrod, Coded Algorithmic Drawing (#45), 1975; Tauba Auerbach, Binary Uppercase/Lowercase, 2005; Charles Gaines, Walnut Tree Orchard: M1, M2, M3, 1977; Agnes Denes, Dialectic Triangulation: A Visual Philosophy, series #3, 1970; Lawrence Weiner, HERE THERE & EVERYWHERE, 1989; Sol LeWitt and Lucinda Childs, Dance #4, 1979. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Programmed: Rules, Codes, and Choreographies in Art, 1965–2018 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 28, 2018–April 14, 2019). From left to right, top to bottom: Charles Csuri, Sine Curve Man, 1967; Joan Truckenbrod, Curvilinear Perspective, 1979; Joan Truckenbrod, Coded Algorithmic Drawing (#9), 1975; Joan Truckenbrod, Coded Algorithmic Drawing (#45), 1975. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Programmed: Rules, Codes, and Choreographies in Art, 1965–2018 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 28, 2018–April 14, 2019). From left to right: Tauba Auerbach, Binary Uppercase/Lowercase, 2005; Charles Gaines, Walnut Tree Orchard: M1, M2, M3, 1977; Agnes Denes, Dialectic Triangulation: A Visual Philosophy, series #3, 1970. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Programmed: Rules, Codes, and Choreographies in Art, 1965–2018 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 28, 2018–April 14, 2019). From left to right: W. Bradford Paley, Code Profiles, 2002 and 2018; Joseph Kosuth, Five Words in Green Neon, 1965. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Programmed: Rules, Codes, and Choreographies in Art, 1965–2018 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 28, 2018–April 14, 2019). From left to right: Nam June Paik, Fin de Siècle II, 1989 (partially restored, 2018); Sol LeWitt, Five Towers, 1986; Josef Albers, Homage to the Square V, 1967; Josef Albers, Homage to the Square IX, 1967; Josef Albers, Homage to the Square XII, 1967; Josef Albers, Homage to the Square X, 1967; Josef Albers, Variant V, 1966; Josef Albers, Variant VI, 1966; Josef Albers, Variant X, 1966; Josef Albers, Variant IV, 1966; Josef Albers, Variant II, 1966; Josef Albers, Variant VII, 1966; John F. Simon Jr., Color Panel v1.0, 1999; Rafaël Rozendaal, Abstract Browsing 17 03 05 (Google), 2017. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Programmed: Rules, Codes, and Choreographies in Art, 1965–2018 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 28, 2018–April 14, 2019). Nam June Paik, Fin de Siècle II, 1989 (partially restored, 2018). Photograph by Ron Amstutz. © Nam June Paik Estate
Installation view of Programmed: Rules, Codes, and Choreographies in Art, 1965–2018 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 28, 2018–April 14, 2019). Nam June Paik, Fin de Siècle II, 1989 (partially restored, 2018). Photograph by Ron Amstutz. © Nam June Paik Estate
Installation view of Programmed: Rules, Codes, and Choreographies in Art, 1965–2018 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 28, 2018–April 14, 2019). Nam June Paik, Fin de Siècle II, 1989 (partially restored, 2018). Photograph by Ron Amstutz. © Nam June Paik Estate
Installation view of Programmed: Rules, Codes, and Choreographies in Art, 1965–2018 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 28, 2018–April 14, 2019). Nam June Paik, Fin de Siècle II, 1989 (partially restored, 2018). Photograph by Ron Amstutz. © Nam June Paik Estate
Installation view of Programmed: Rules, Codes, and Choreographies in Art, 1965–2018 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 28, 2018–April 14, 2019). Nam June Paik, Fin de Siècle II, 1989 (partially restored, 2018). Photograph by Ron Amstutz. © Nam June Paik Estate
Installation view of Programmed: Rules, Codes, and Choreographies in Art, 1965–2018 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 28, 2018–April 14, 2019). Cheyney Thompson, Broken Volume (10 L), 2013. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Cheyney Thompson, Broken Volume (10 L), 2013 (installation view, Programmed: Rules, Codes, and Choreographies in Art, 1965-2018, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 28, 2018-April 14, 2019). Concrete, dimensions variable. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; promised gift of Thea Westreich Wagner and Ethan Wagner P.2014.33. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Programmed: Rules, Codes, and Choreographies in Art, 1965–2018 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 28, 2018–April 14, 2019). Cheyney Thompson, Broken Volume (10 L), 2013. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Programmed: Rules, Codes, and Choreographies in Art, 1965–2018 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 28, 2018–April 14, 2019). From left to right: Alex Dodge, Human-Assisted Simulations of a Universal Will to Become (Simulation 9), 2014; Ian Cheng, Baby feat. Ikaria, 2013; Cheyney Thompson, Broken Volume (10 L), 2013. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Programmed: Rules, Codes, and Choreographies in Art, 1965–2018 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 28, 2018–April 14, 2019). From left to right: Alex Dodge, Human-Assisted Simulations of a Universal Will to Become (Simulation 9), 2014; Ian Cheng, Baby feat. Ikaria, 2013. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Programmed: Rules, Codes, and Choreographies in Art, 1965–2018 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 28, 2018–April 14, 2019). Steina, Mynd, 2000. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Programmed: Rules, Codes, and Choreographies in Art, 1965–2018 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 28, 2018–April 14, 2019). Steina, Mynd, 2000. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Programmed: Rules, Codes, and Choreographies in Art, 1965–2018 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 28, 2018–April 14, 2019). Steina, Mynd, 2000. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Programmed: Rules, Codes, and Choreographies in Art, 1965–2018 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 28, 2018–April 14, 2019). Steina, Mynd, 2000. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Programmed: Rules, Codes, and Choreographies in Art, 1965–2018 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 28, 2018–April 14, 2019). Steina, Mynd, 2000. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Programmed: Rules, Codes, and Choreographies in Art, 1965–2018 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 28, 2018–April 14, 2019). Lawrence Weiner, HERE THERE & EVERYWHERE, 1989. Photograph by Ron Amstutz. © 2020 Lawrence Weiner/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Installation view of Programmed: Rules, Codes, and Choreographies in Art, 1965–2018 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 28, 2018–April 14, 2019). Jim Campbell, Tilted Plane, 2011. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Programmed: Rules, Codes, and Choreographies in Art, 1965–2018 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 28, 2018–April 14, 2019). From left to right: Earl Reiback, Thrust, 1969; James L. Seawright, Searcher, 1966; Nam June Paik, Magnet TV, 1965. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Programmed: Rules, Codes, and Choreographies in Art, 1965–2018 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 28, 2018–April 14, 2019). James L. Seawright, Searcher, 1966. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Programmed: Rules, Codes, and Choreographies in Art, 1965–2018 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 28, 2018–April 14, 2019). Cory Arcangel, Super Mario Clouds, 2002. Photograph by Ron Amstutz. © Cory Arcangel. Courtesy of the artist and Team Gallery, New York
Installation view of Programmed: Rules, Codes, and Choreographies in Art, 1965–2018 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 28, 2018–April 14, 2019). Paul Pfeiffer, Goethe’s Message to the New Negroes, 2001. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Programmed: Rules, Codes, and Choreographies in Art, 1965–2018 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 28, 2018–April 14, 2019). Lynn Hershman Leeson, Lorna, 1979–84. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Programmed: Rules, Codes, and Choreographies in Art, 1965–2018 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 28, 2018–April 14, 2019). Lynn Hershman Leeson, Lorna, 1979–84. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Programmed: Rules, Codes, and Choreographies in Art, 1965–2018 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 28, 2018–April 14, 2019). Siebren Versteeg, New York Double Hung, 2008. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Programmed: Rules, Codes, and Choreographies in Art, 1965–2018 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 28, 2018–April 14, 2019). From left to right: Jonah Brucker-Cohen and Katherine Moriwaki, America’s Got No Talent, 2012 and 2018; Jim Campbell, Tilted Plane, 2011. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Programmed: Rules, Codes, and Choreographies in Art, 1965–2018 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 28, 2018–April 14, 2019). From left to right: Jonah Brucker-Cohen and Katherine Moriwaki, America’s Got No Talent, 2012 and 2018; Jim Campbell, Tilted Plane, 2011; Lillian Schwartz, Enigma, 1972; Lillian Schwartz, Newtonian I, 1978; Lillian Schwartz, Newtonian II, 1978; Cory Arcangel, Super Mario Clouds, 2002. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Programmed: Rules, Codes, and Choreographies in Art, 1965–2018 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 28, 2018–April 14, 2019). From left to right: Lillian Schwartz, Enigma, 1972; Lillian Schwartz, Newtonian I, 1978; Lillian Schwartz, Newtonian II, 1978; Cory Arcangel, Super Mario Clouds, 2002; Earl Reiback, Thrust, 1969; Marc Lafia and Fang-Yu Lin, The Battle of Algiers, 2006. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Programmed: Rules, Codes, and Choreographies in Art, 1965–2018 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 28, 2018–April 14, 2019). From left to right: Lillian Schwartz, Enigma, 1972; Lillian Schwartz, Newtonian I, 1978; Lillian Schwartz, Newtonian II, 1978; Cory Arcangel, Super Mario Clouds, 2002; Earl Reiback, Thrust, 1969; Marc Lafia and Fang-Yu Lin, The Battle of Algiers, 2006. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Programmed: Rules, Codes, and Choreographies in Art, 1965–2018 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 28, 2018–April 14, 2019). From left to right: Lynn Hershman Leeson, Lorna, 1979–84; Lillian Schwartz, Enigma, 1972; Lillian Schwartz, Newtonian I, 1978; Lillian Schwartz, Newtonian II, 1978; Cory Arcangel, Super Mario Clouds, 2002. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Programmed: Rules, Codes, and Choreographies in Art, 1965–2018 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 28, 2018–April 14, 2019). From left to right: Lynn Hershman Leeson, Lorna, 1979–84; Lillian Schwartz, Enigma, 1972; Lillian Schwartz, Newtonian I, 1978; Lillian Schwartz, Newtonian II, 1978; Cory Arcangel, Super Mario Clouds, 2002. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Programmed: Rules, Codes, and Choreographies in Art, 1965–2018 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 28, 2018–April 14, 2019). From left to right: Lynn Hershman Leeson, Lorna, 1979–84; Lillian Schwartz, Enigma, 1972; Lillian Schwartz, Newtonian I, 1978; Lillian Schwartz, Newtonian II, 1978; Cory Arcangel, Super Mario Clouds, 2002. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Programmed: Rules, Codes, and Choreographies in Art, 1965–2018 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 28, 2018–April 14, 2019). From left to right: Marc Lafia and Fang-Yu Lin, The Battle of Algiers, 2006; Mendi + Keith Obadike, The Interaction of Coloreds, 2002 and 2018. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Programmed: Rules, Codes, and Choreographies in Art, 1965–2018 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 28, 2018–April 14, 2019). From left to right: Mendi + Keith Obadike, The Interaction of Coloreds, 2002 and 2018; Paul Pfeiffer, Goethe’s Message to the New Negroes, 2001. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Programmed: Rules, Codes, and Choreographies in Art, 1965–2018 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 28, 2018–April 14, 2019). Barbara Lattanzi, C-Span Alphaville and C-SPAN Karaoke, 2005. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Programmed: Rules, Codes, and Choreographies in Art, 1965–2018 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 28, 2018–April 14, 2019). From left to right: Jim Campbell, Tilted Plane, 2011; Barbara Lattanzi, C-Span Alphaville and C-SPAN Karaoke, 2005. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Programmed: Rules, Codes, and Choreographies in Art, 1965–2018 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 28, 2018–April 14, 2019). From left to right: Barbara Lattanzi, C-Span Alphaville and C-SPAN Karaoke, 2005; Lynn Hershman Leeson, Lorna, 1979–84; Jim Campbell, Reconstruction 7, 2006; Jim Campbell, Ambiguous Icon #5 (Running, Falling), 2000. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Programmed: Rules, Codes, and Choreographies in Art, 1965–2018 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 28, 2018–April 14, 2019). Tamika Thiel, Unexpected Growth, 2018. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Programmed: Rules, Codes, and Choreographies in Art, 1965–2018 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 28, 2018–April 14, 2019). Tamika Thiel, Unexpected Growth, 2018. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Programmed: Rules, Codes, and Choreographies in Art, 1965–2018 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 28, 2018–April 14, 2019). From left to right, top to bottom: Nam June Paik, Fin de Siècle II, 1989; Sol Lewitt, Five Towers, 1986; Josef Albers, Variant I, 1966; Josef Albers, Variant IX, 1966; Josef Albers, Variant VIII, 1966; Josef Albers, Variant III, 1966; Josef Albers, Homage to the Square VI, 1967; Josef Albers, Homage to the Square III, 1967; Josef Albers, Homage to the Square I, 1967; Josef Albers, Homage to the Square II, 1967; Josef Albers, Homage to the Square XI, 1967; Josef Albers, Homage to the Square VII, 1967; John F. Simon Jr., Color Panel v1.0, 1999; Mika Tajima, Negative Entropy (Digital Ocean, NYC2, 4U, NAS, Pink, Quad), 2018. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Programmed: Rules, Codes, and Choreographies in Art, 1965–2018 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 28, 2018–April 14, 2019). From left to right, top to bottom: Nam June Paik, Fin de Siècle II, 1989; Josef Albers, Variant I, 1966; Josef Albers, Variant IX, 1966; Josef Albers, Variant VIII, 1966; Josef Albers, Variant III, 1966; Josef Albers, Homage to the Square VI, 1967; Josef Albers, Homage to the Square III, 1967; Josef Albers, Homage to the Square I, 1967; Josef Albers, Homage to the Square II, 1967; Josef Albers, Homage to the Square XI, 1967; Josef Albers, Homage to the Square VII, 1967. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Programmed: Rules, Codes, and Choreographies in Art, 1965–2018 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 28, 2018–April 14, 2019). From left to right, top to bottom: Nam June Paik, Fin de Siècle II, 1989; Josef Albers, Variant I, 1966; Josef Albers, Variant IX, 1966; Josef Albers, Variant VIII, 1966; Josef Albers, Variant III, 1966; Josef Albers, Homage to the Square VI, 1967; Josef Albers, Homage to the Square III, 1967; Josef Albers, Homage to the Square I, 1967; Josef Albers, Homage to the Square II, 1967; Josef Albers, Homage to the Square XI, 1967; Josef Albers, Homage to the Square VII, 1967; John F. Simon Jr., Color Panel v1.0, 1999; Mika Tajima, Negative Entropy (Digital Ocean, NYC2, 4U, NAS, Pink, Quad), 2018. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Programmed: Rules, Codes, and Choreographies in Art, 1965–2018 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 28, 2018–April 14, 2019). From left to right, top to bottom: Manfred Mohr, Band Structures P-021-U, 1970–83; Joan Truckenbrod, Curvilinear Perspective, 1979; Joan Truckenbrod, Coded Algorithmic Drawing (#9), 1975; Joan Truckenbrod, Coded Algorithmic Drawing (#45), 1975; Tauba Auerbach, Binary Uppercase/Lowercase, 2005; Charles Gaines, Walnut Tree Orchard: M1, M2, M3, 1977; Agnes Denes, Pascal’s Triangle II, 1974; Lawrence Weiner, HERE THERE & EVERYWHERE, 1989; In vitrine: Channa Horwitz, Suite 8, 1979. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Programmed: Rules, Codes, and Choreographies in Art, 1965–2018 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 28, 2018–April 14, 2019). From left to right: Lucinda Childs and Sol LeWitt, Dance #4, 1979; Casey Reas, {Software} Structures, Sol LeWitt Wall Drawing #358, 2004 and 2016; Lucinda Childs, Philip Glass, and Sol LeWitt, Dance, 1979 and 2014; Projection of: Lucinda Childs, Dance #1-5, 1979; In vitrine: Philip Glass, Score for Dance #1, 1979. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Programmed: Rules, Codes, and Choreographies in Art, 1965–2018 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 28, 2018–April 14, 2019). From left to right, top to bottom: Manfred Mohr, Band Structures P-021-U, 1970–83; Joan Truckenbrod, Curvilinear Perspective, 1979; Joan Truckenbrod, Coded Algorithmic Drawing (#9), 1975; Joan Truckenbrod, Coded Algorithmic Drawing (#45), 1975. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Programmed: Rules, Codes, and Choreographies in Art, 1965–2018 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 28, 2018–April 14, 2019). From left to right, top to bottom: Casey Reas, {Software} Structures #003 B, 2004 and 2016; Sol LeWitt, 4th wall: 24 lines from the center, 12 lines from the midpoint of each of the sides, 12 lines from each corner, 1976; Manfred Mohr, Band Structures P-021-U, 1970–83; Joan Truckenbrod, Curvilinear Perspective, 1979; Joan Truckenbrod, Coded Algorithmic Drawing (#9), 1975; Joan Truckenbrod, Coded Algorithmic Drawing (#45), 1975; In vitrine: Channa Horwitz, Suite 8, 1979. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Programmed: Rules, Codes, and Choreographies in Art, 1965–2018 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 28, 2018–April 14, 2019). From left to right: Channa Horwitz, Suite 8, 1979; Lucinda Childs and Sol LeWitt, Dance #4, 1979; Casey Reas, {Software} Structures, Sol LeWitt Wall Drawing #358, 2004 and 2016; Lucinda Childs, Philip Glass, and Sol LeWitt, Dance, 1979 and 2014; June Paik, Fin de Siècle II, 1989; Josef Albers, Variant I, 1966; Josef Albers, Variant IX, 1966; Josef Albers, Variant VIII, 1966; Josef Albers, Variant III, 1966; Josef Albers, Homage to the Square VI, 1967; Josef Albers, Homage to the Square III, 1967; Josef Albers, Homage to the Square I, 1967; Josef Albers, Homage to the Square II, 1967; Josef Albers, Homage to the Square XI, 1967; Josef Albers, Homage to the Square VII, 1967; John F. Simon Jr., Color Panel v1.0, 1999; Mika Tajima, Negative Entropy (Digital Ocean, NYC2, 4U, NAS, Pink, Quad), 2018. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Programmed: Rules, Codes, and Choreographies in Art, 1965–2018 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 28, 2018–April 14, 2019). Paul Pfeiffer, Goethe’s Message to the New Negroes, 2001. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Programmed: Rules, Codes, and Choreographies in Art, 1965–2018 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 28, 2018–April 14, 2019). Mendi + Keith Obadike, The Interaction of Coloreds, 2002 and 2018. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Programmed: Rules, Codes, and Choreographies in Art, 1965–2018 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 28, 2018–April 14, 2019). Mendi + Keith Obadike, The Interaction of Coloreds, 2002 and 2018. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Programmed: Rules, Codes, and Choreographies in Art, 1965–2018 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 28, 2018–April 14, 2019). From left to right: Cory Arcangel, Super Mario Clouds, 2002; Nam June Paik, Magnet TV, 1965; Shigeko Kubota, Meta-Marcel: Window, 1976. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Programmed: Rules, Codes, and Choreographies in Art, 1965–2018 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 28, 2018–April 14, 2019). Shigeko Kubota, Meta-Marcel: Window, 1976. Photograph by Ron Amstutz. © Estate of Shigeko Kubota / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Installation view of Programmed: Rules, Codes, and Choreographies in Art, 1965–2018 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 28, 2018–April 14, 2019). Shigeko Kubota, Meta-Marcel: Window, 1976. Photograph by Ron Amstutz. © Estate of Shigeko Kubota / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Installation view of Programmed: Rules, Codes, and Choreographies in Art, 1965–2018 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 28, 2018–April 14, 2019). From left to right, top to bottom: Josef Albers, Variant I, 1966; Josef Albers, Variant IX, 1966; Josef Albers, Variant VIII, 1966; Josef Albers, Variant III, 1966; Josef Albers, Homage to the Square VI, 1967; Josef Albers, Homage to the Square III, 1967; Josef Albers, Homage to the Square I, 1967; Josef Albers, Homage to the Square II, 1967; Josef Albers, Homage to the Square XI, 1967; Josef Albers, Homage to the Square VII, 1967. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
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In the News
"How Artists Made Code Their Paintbrush"
—Science Friday
"Tamiko Thiel’s 'Unexpected Growth' is an augmented reality installation on the future of oceans and climate change."
—Hyperallergic
"The exhibit uses the Whitney’s own collection to explore how computational art has evolved and changed over the decades based on technology."
—Smithsonian
"Is a particularly urgent, relevant exhibition and a perfect setting in which to consider some of the most pressing questions of our time.”
—Sotheby’s Museum Network
"Programmed explores the limits of code-based art, looking at past generations of computational art and illustrating how the ideas of earlier works have developed to form new contemporary styles.”
—SVA NYC
“From early mathematical works, to Generative art, to digital art in a variety of media, the works in Programmed take many forms.”
—Art and Object
"Artists play and experiment with algorithms and technology, working within limits but achieving effects greater than the sum of their codes or instructions. The duality at play in this exhibition is as separable as the wave and particle natures of light. To recognize only one explanation would be reductive; to see both is beautiful.”
—Scientific American
“Paik captured both the allure and the futility of following events that happen so quickly they don't register before they're outdated.”
—Forbes
