how i become a punch card
8 shaft table loom, algorithm, workstation, globe, work suits, essential electronics
dimensions variable
2024
how i become a punch card sets up a speculative stage where a modern computer communicates with its most primitive form, a weaving loom, through the brain and body of a human acting as both compiler and loom operator. highlighting the word "punch card" in the title, the work recalls the early nineteenth-century jacquard loom, which processed man-made punch cards to achieve sequences of automated operations.
in this installation, the computer creates patterns and transmits binary digits, along with weaving instructions, to a human processor for the final woven outcome. by situating a person as an inseparable component of this computational process, how i become a punch card becomes a metaphor for daily life in the information age, where human subjectivity is constantly negotiated with the agency of the machine.
one continuous textile forms over time, serving as both a physical and metaphorical record of computation. each thread traces the intertwined evolution of weaving and thinking machines, from our first attempt to mechanize craft to the emergence of autonomous intelligence modeled on the human brain.
artist: liang he
liang he (b. 2000 in foshan, china) is a research-based artists working with computers and drones in the extended field of sculpture and installation. he is currently pursuing his mfa degree in art and technology studies at the school of the art institute of chicago (saic), where he received his bfa degree in studio art in 2022, and was awarded presidential merit scholarship. he's work has exhibited at the ars eletronica festival, museum of communication frankfurt, evanston art center, gene siskel film center, a4 art museum, sva flatiron gallery, and saic galleries.
how i become a punch card
8 shaft table loom, algorithm, workstation, globe, work suits, essential electronics
dimensions variable
2024
how i become a punch card sets up a speculative stage where a modern computer communicates with its most primitive form, a weaving loom, through the brain and body of a human acting as both compiler and loom operator. highlighting the word "punch card" in the title, the work recalls the early nineteenth-century jacquard loom, which processed man-made punch cards to achieve sequences of automated operations.
in this installation, the computer creates patterns and transmits binary digits, along with weaving instructions, to a human processor for the final woven outcome. by situating a person as an inseparable component of this computational process, how i become a punch card becomes a metaphor for daily life in the information age, where human subjectivity is constantly negotiated with the agency of the machine.
one continuous textile forms over time, serving as both a physical and metaphorical record of computation. each thread traces the intertwined evolution of weaving and thinking machines, from our first attempt to mechanize craft to the emergence of autonomous intelligence modeled on the human brain.
artist: liang he
liang he (b. 2000 in foshan, china) is a research-based artists working with computers and drones in the extended field of sculpture and installation. he is currently pursuing his mfa degree in art and technology studies at the school of the art institute of chicago (saic), where he received his bfa degree in studio art in 2022, and was awarded presidential merit scholarship. he's work has exhibited at the ars eletronica festival, museum of communication frankfurt, evanston art center, gene siskel film center, a4 art museum, sva flatiron gallery, and saic galleries.