Following Taylor Nuttall’s presentation as part of the workshop we took part in at the Biennale Puglia, we were really pleased to have Alessandro Ludovico (Neural Magazine, Bari, Italy) join us and give an inspiring view on technology and artistic collaboration.

Alessandro is a media critic and editor-in-chief of Neural magazine since 1993 (Honorary Mention, Prix Ars Electronica 2004). He is the author of 'Virtual Reality Handbook' (1992), 'Internet Underground.Guide' (1995), 'Suoni Futuri Digitali' (Future Digital Sounds, 2000) and co-editor of the 'Mag.Net Reader' series. He's one of the founding contributors to the Nettime community and one of the founders of Mag.Net (Electronic Cultural Publishers organization). He teaches 'Computer Art' and 'Interface Aesthetics' at the Academy of Art in Carrara.

Since 2005 he has collaborated with Ubermorgen and P. Cirio on projects such as Google Will Eat Itself (GWEI), which received an Honorary Mention at the Prix Ars Electronica 2005 as well as a Rhizome Commission 2005 and a nomination for the Prix Transmediale 2006; and Amazon Noir (1st prize Stuttgarter Filmwinter 2007, Honorary Mention Share Prize 2007).

Alessandro talked us through these two projects and devoted time to the particularities of the collaborations, highlighting how neither of the projects could have been realised without the diverse and specific talents of each of the collaborators. Through this discussion, Alessandro made a point of stressing his interest in open source methodologies and how this approach can also be applied outside of the context of software (on a related note, there have been quite interesting discussions around this topic on the New Media Curating List here: here). He also gave some great examples of successful projects using this methodology, such as Open Cola and Free beer. (He also recommended a book on this topic to check out: “Infotopia: How Many Minds Produce Knowledge” by Cass R. Sunstein, which we ironically link to on amazon.com).

Importantly, Alessandro also raised the issue of how programmers and technicians are treated in artistic collaborations that use technology as a medium. Often they are considered ‘B’ list collaborators, as opposed to ‘A’ list collaborators, or artists. While many programmers would never consider themselves artists, their involvement in the creation and production of artworks using technology as a medium should not be underestimated or underecognised.

In the end, our main aim with this workshop was to inspire young artists and cultural workers to explore the potential in these new digital tools and methodologies. As one participant said to us: “In Portugal, we feel like we are plan B, like Alessandro said, but using these tools, looking at the software developments makes me feel we can maneuver and work with others online to create a space and feel better, we can feel good as artists.”