rethinking the presentation of generative artworks
https://www.neme.org/projects/presentation-of-generative-art
On Saturday 17 May 2025 at 6:30pm, NeMe invites you to a presentation by artists Alexandre Burton and Line Nault who will explore Artificiel organisation’s approach to technology in art, and new modes of exhibition.
Since 2000, Montréal-based artificiel.org has explored the intersection of art and technology. Functioning as an incubator, laboratory, and presentation venue, the organisation initiates, supports, and collaborates on art projects that prioritise experimentation over productivity. It favours new ways of creating, presenting, and experiencing art across disciplines—encouraging artists to gain autonomy with their tools and maintain control over the conceptual supply chain. This translates to open-source methods and custom-built processes, rather than relying on tools shaped by and for the industry.
Artificiel’s core artists have made over 15 major works, presented on stages and in galleries around the world. Recently, the group expanded its focus to include a new autonomous presentation space in Montréal—what they call an “experience context.” Established in 2022, EISODE 1 offers a dedicated environment for installations that incorporate elements of dynamic, generative art. The presented works are tied to technology, and grounded in algorithmic writing systems that unfold over time. EISODE hosts installations that demand meticulous attention and a significant investment of time for their full experience. Visits are by reservation, with each visitor assigned an unsupervised, private time slot to engage with the artwork autonomously.
A central concern is to remove as much meta-discourse around the artwork as possible. Their aim is to eliminate external commentary and focus entirely on what exists within the work itself and the artist’s practice. This approach reflects their broader creative process, which strives to create works that resolve their own necessity. Curation is guided by a list of objective criteria, providing an almost algorithmic process for determining whether a work is suitable for EISODE.
Artificiel actively resist the use of devices such as themes, as well as the aggregation of artworks into meta-expressions—practices that typically result in acoustic, visual, or cognitive competition, to the detriment of the works themselves. They prefer to let the artworks speak for themselves. This does not mean they are indifferent to how the works are received—quite the opposite. They go to great lengths to ensure visitors are well-equipped to have a meaningful experience. But these efforts remain strictly practical, without thematic or political framing and aim to give the greatest freedom possible to both artworks and visitors.
Notes
- EISODE is a word coined and used by Michael Faraday, pioneer of electromagnetism, to describe “the gate by which the current enters”—a concept later reified as the cathode.
