INTRODUCTION

The artworks featured on this site are an integral part of the aggregation-dynamic project. Below, I briefly outline how the artworks fit into the theory. Although the artworks are related to the theory, I have always strived to ensure that they are compelling or beautiful in their own right. The artworks must be able to function independently of my theoretical musings.

The projects TELL ME ALL ABOUT IT, HOFJE VAN STAATS, BRUL VAN DER VEER, and the TOKENS series all revolve around the questions: What is text? What is encoding? What do computers make of human text? The last question was prompted by the commotion that arose in the Netherlands around the year 2000. Think of the film Fitna, the murder of Theo van Gogh, and the rise of anti-Islam sentiments in populist politics. The Bible-Quran diptych was the first in the series. My intention was to convey that people’s arguments over these texts are a rearguard action. The relevant question is: What do autonomously operating computer systems make of the Bible and the Quran? This last question has now become highly topical due to developments in artificial intelligence. Think of chatbots, large language models, and the agency of AI systems.

The REBOOT project is a large-scale initiative involving 10 Dutch thinkers. It explored the question of how human dignity, humanity, and enlightened thinking can endure in a world increasingly dominated by non-neutral technology. We are part of that world, and there is no turning back. But how can we avoid losing our way and breathe new life into our stewardship of the earth? These questions have only become more relevant now that AI companies are warning that their AI systems could destroy us. I think that’s nonsense, but explaining why would take us too far afield here.

Series such as KLONKEN and SCHRAFS deal with elementary constructions and with wholes and parts. The works reflect on the “Ding an sich,” objectivism versus subjectivism, and the existence—or lack thereof—of foundations of knowledge (cf. Richard Rorty). They also explore a grammar within increasing complexity. And which expressions are possible within it, and which are not. Can completely useless, tightly sealed boxes arise and exist?

The BIOPTEN serve to blur the boundary between the objects and organisms we believe we perceive. An extraterrestrial biologist—from Mars, for example—would not see the difference between a head and the glasses perched on it. As befits a biologist, this biologist would also take a biopsy and examine what structures can be discerned. I believe we will understand nothing of the world if we cling to the seemingly observable things around us. The concept of “aggregation” from Aggregation Dynamics attempts to overcome this conceptual shortcoming of object-oriented thinking.

The CONVERSATION PIECES are about interactions. The point is that we should not think in terms of things but in terms of processes (cf. the philosophy of Iain McGilchrist).