Lecture:
The Demon Machine or 79 Ways to Face a
Demon
Abstract:
The demon machine is a semiotic machine,
combining different sign systems into a new
meaningful whole. Although each of the 79 parts of
this art work are complete forms in themselves,
they are also integrated into a whole - playing
with the uses of the two words “demon”
and “machine”. Some of the 79 small forms
will be analyzed exemplarily. The use of the
different sign systems but also their integration
into the interface and the (limited) interactive
potential will be described. The artwork can be
seen as a continuation of montage and collage as
used since the avant-garde. The demon machine is
highly intertextual / intermedial: a poetic work, a
thought experiment and a theoretical reflection on
Maxwell’s demons at the same time.