The fourth Data Science and Analytics Seminar Series at Sabancı University was held with a presentation entitled 'From Code to Canvas: The Aesthetics of Technological Art' by Sabancı University Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Faculty Member Selçuk Artut.
In the seminar, Selçuk Artut gave a presentation full of examples on how data science applications can be integrated into the field of art and the points where data science intersects with art.
Touching on his career journey from mathematics to sonic arts and the philosophy of technology, Artut shared with the audience his projects that transform different data into concrete art forms and explore the boundaries of traditional artistic norms. Selçuk Artut began his presentation by talking about his latest works, the geometric patterns he created inspired by the Karatay Madrasah in Konya. Reproducing these complex patterns by combining coding and cultural heritage, Artut revealed how technology can bring a new breath to historical art forms. He also introduced one of his music projects, Raw, where he introduced the technique of "live coding", where he produces music and visuals by writing code in real time, similar to jazz music.
Other examples he presented from his past projects included real-time music production from earthquake data and the interactive work “Music with Earthquake Data” created with information obtained from digital databases. Artut, who explained that music was produced instantly for a theater performance with data obtained from the Kandilli Observatory, stated that this work directly transformed the vibrations of the world into an artistic form.
In another example, Dr. Artut, who introduced his artificial intelligence-based work called “Variable”, stated that this work of art, trained with machine learning algorithms, offers a structure that redefines itself with every interaction. Artut also provided a creative example of how data can expand the way we perceive a subject with his data visualization work on dystopian-themed science fiction films.
Artut, who included the concept of technological art in his speech, emphasized that he preferred the term “Technological Arts” rather than the terms “New Media” or “Digital Arts”. Stating that he sees technology not only as a tool but also as a part of artistic creativity, Artut's presentation, which showed the impact of data science in creative and artistic fields, also increased the curiosity for the future sessions of the seminar series.