Alan Turing Centenary Arts and Culture
2012 is the centenary of Alan Turing’s birth. Alan Mathison Turing, OBE, FRS (23 June 1912 – 7 June 1954), was an English mathematician, logician, cryptanalyst and computer scientist. He was highly influential in the development of computer science, providing a formalisation of the concepts of "algorithm" and "computation" with the Turing machine, which played a significant role in the creation of the modern computer. Turing is widely considered to be the father of computer science and artificial intelligence. During the Second World War, Turing worked for the Government Code and Cypher School at Bletchley Park, Britain's codebreaking centre. For a time he was head of Hut 8, the section responsible for German naval cryptanalysis. He devised a number of techniques for breaking German ciphers, including the method of the bombe, an electromechanical machine that could find settings for the Enigma machine. After the war he worked at the National Physical Laboratory, where he created one of the first designs for a stored-program computer, the ACE. Towards the end of his life Turing became interested in mathematical biology. He wrote a paper on the chemical basis of morphogenesis,[4] and he predicted oscillating chemical reactions such as the Belousov–Zhabotinsky reaction, which were first observed in the 1960s. Turing's homosexuality resulted in a criminal prosecution in 1952, when homosexual acts were still illegal in the United Kingdom. He accepted treatment with female hormones as an alternative to prison. He died in 1954, just over two weeks before his 42nd birthday, from cyanide poisoning. An inquest determined it was suicide; his mother and some others believed his death was accidental. On 10 September 2009, following an Internet campaign, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown made an official public apology on behalf of the British government for the way in which Turing was treated after the war. For more information contact annadumitriu@hotmail.com
We are pleased to announce that “Intuition and Ingenuity” will be exhibited at Bletchley Park where Alan Turing undertook his important wartime code breaking work. The show will run between 1st and 30th November 2013 with a meet the robots event (date to be confirmed). We plan to develop some new site specific artworks for the exhibition which we will install sensitively in suitable locations at the historic site. During the Second World War, Bletchley Park was the site of the United Kingdom’s main decryption establishment, the Government Code and Cypher School (GC&CS), where ciphers and codes of several Axis countries were decrypted, most importantly the ciphers generated by the German Enigma and Lorenz machines. It also housed Station X, a secret radio intercept and message sending station. The first digital computer in the world, known as Colossus, was built here using Turing’s ideas.
The Alan Turing Centenary Year has now drawn to a close. What a year it has been! The Arts and Culture Subcommittee have been particularly busy with our fantastic touring exhibition “Intuition and Ingenuity” (taking its name from Turing’s descriptions of his methodology for mathematics!) which has travelled the length and breadth of the UK. Starting at Kinetica in London, then to Lighthouse for Brighton Science Festival, then Lovebytes Festival in Sheffield, Birmingham for the AISB World Congress, London (again) for the London Digital Weekend at the V & A, Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen for the British Science Festival, the blinc Festival in Conwy, Wales and finally ending the year at Phoenix Square in Leicester. But that’s not the end of the show! We are pleased to report that the exhibition will travel to Bletchley Park in 2013 and feature many new, specially commissioned works, and hopefully further afield as we are currently in talks with a number of international festivals. So watch this space!
Video of Martin A Smith and Alex May’s “A Portrait of Alan Turing in Sound and Visuals” projected on to the Conwy Civic Centre as part of the blinc digital arts festival. The portrait was commissioned by the Turing Centenary Arts and Culture Subcommittee for “Intuition and Ingenuity” for Turing’s 100th birthday celebration/Dorkboat (Dorkbot London) when it was performed live. It is also currently on show in “Intuition and Ingenuity” at Leicester Phoenix Square until 9th November 2012.
The soundscape was generated from Turing Patterns using image to sound software and incorporates recordings of the Bombe, the Second World War and elements from Snow White, a story that meant so much to Alan Turing.The intent, like a conventional painted portrait or photograph, is to represent aspects his character, life and work by using the medium of sound. See here to listen.
There will be a talks event at Phoenix Square Gallery in Leicester to accompany the exhibition of “Intuition and Ingenuity” there. It will be an opportunity to meet some of the artists behind the show and features Alex May and Anna Dumitriu (whose work “My Robot Companion” will be there for the afternoon, Vicky Isley and Paul Smith from boredomresearch, Tom Castle from Trope Troupe, Sean Clark, Nick Lambert and Chair of the Computer arts Society. See info here and photos of the show here.
We are pleased to be taking “Intuition and Ingenuity” to Conwy in Wales as part of the blinc digital festival. The festival has a strong Turing theme this year and includes a new large scale work by Craig Morrison entitled “Thank You” which is an emotional response to Alan Turing’s Epitaph re-created in neon. It will also be streamed on The BBC Space. The Turing Centenary Arts and Culture Subcommittee strongly supports the creation of this exciting new work honouring Turing. “My New Robot Companion” above, will also be shown and we are particularly pleased that our commissioned work “A Portrait of Alan Turing in Sound and Visuals” will be projected large scale on to the Civic Hall. See here for info.
We are excited to announce that Phoenix Square in Leicester will be the next venue for “Intuition and Ingenuity” the special design of the space for digital art installations means that we are able to exhibit works in new ways and also include some new projects that we love. The opening reception will take place on 8th October 2012. See here for more information. The exhibition will also include the stunning “Departures” by Trope Troupe (pictured). There will be a meet the artists/talks event on 3rd November 2012 with an opportunity to meet “My New Robot Companion” a humanoid, ‘face stealing’ robot.
“Intuition and Ingenuity” has just opened at the British Science Festival in Aberdeen, in the Georgina Scott Library Gallery at Robert Gordon University. The show runs until 12th October 2012. See images here.
Anna Dumitriu and Alex May will also be giving a “Guests at Gray’s” talk at Gray’s School of Art in Aberdeen to accompany the exhibition at 1pm on 12th October 2012. See more information here.
The exhibition of “Intuition and Ingenuity” at the AISB/IACAP World Congress in Birmingham was a great success and well attended. Artists and curators from the show were also fortunate to meet the President of the Alan Turing Year Advisory Committee Sir John Dermot Turing - nephew of the great man himself. See pictures here.
Performance by Alex May and Martin A Smith at Watermans Gallery as the culmination of the Turing Centenary Arts and Culture Subcommittee’s Centenary Day Celebrations on 23rd June 2012. To mark what would’ve been Turing’s 100th birthday, Alex May performed a live, improvised video mix visually interpreting Martin’s sound portrait using his own software called PatchBox. See more about Martin’s sound work here.
Here it is! Our Turing Centenary Celebration Cake! Widely agreed across the twitterverse to be the best cake ever! See #turingcake, created by Pink Rose Cakes it was consumed by 100 guests at Watermans Gallery in London following a fabulous Dorkbot Thames River cruise which featured Turing themed talks and a Turing themed fancy dress! See the photos here.
