Beyond Resolution 
Impressions of the opening of Open Codes
Fri, November 17, 2017 11 am – 3.30 pm CET, Workshop

While we rarely pay attention to the standards around us, they actually govern our daily lives on all levels – practically, aesthetically, economically, politically, and so forth. We are oblivious to this because generally, settings either ossify into proprietary requirements or get accepted as habits. During this workshop with Dutch art theorist, curator, glitch artist and visual artist specializing in glitch art and resolution theory, Rosa Menkman, we will look into how certain image processing standards have been developed: how do they work and why do they work the way they do – what do they resolve, and more importantly, what do they not resolve? 

During the hands-on portion of the workshop we will use the languages of some of the most common image file formats as a tool for creation, via a technique named data bending. Methodologically similar to circuit bending, during this exercise we will not explore the nature of circuits but the nature of digital files: how can we generate often unexpected visual structures through various methods of bending. And also: when we open up and dissect an image data file, what can we learn about its inherent standards, and how can this action provide us with with thoughts about new or alternative uses of these files?

Bring your computer, no programming knowledge is necessary!

The workshop will be held in English. 

Organization / Institution
ZKM | Center for Art and Media

Accompanying program

Contributors