CATALOGUE: ERROR - THE ART OF IMPERFECTION

In general, an error is still all too often perceived as something negative, as something undesired, which should have been avoided or, even worse, which needs to be concealed. Yet it is very likely that without errors our cultural techniques and technologies would not have emerged the way they have. Particularly the nagging feeling of dissatisfaction—when a project or a plan doesn’t pan out as initially intended—should be valued as something highly fruitful, as a motor for the ongoing process and against stasis. Quite possibly then, perfection and imperfection have always been co-dependent and inseparably bonded in a complex relationship. So the question is not, or not always, how to prevent errors and failure, but how to cope with them and harvest their possibilities. Errors, seen as deviations from the norm or the expected, can offer important alternatives and different perspectives. They create a certain leeway and freedom of thinking, which is crucial for every open, democratic society. How can art, science and technology contribute even more in the process of establishing these qualities on a broader societal scale? This year’s Ars Electronica festival is dedicated to the multifaceted term error, obviously an imperfect task — it better be! ars.electronica.art/error

PDF		Complete
		ERROR - The Art of Imperfection