What is Cultural Computing?

Creating and transforming culture with computers. Computer technology directed to enhancing, extending, and transforming human creative products and processes.

In a sense, all computing is cultural computing, but cultural computing puts the focus on significant areas of cultural activity that have long been underserved: the arts (without high/low distinction), the humanities (broadly speaking the study of all culture), and the blending and transformation of those domains with the sciences. Indeed, another name for our work is "Creative Computing."

We pursue innovative, creative projects that join disparate disciplines for transformative results.

While our goal is to create and disseminate transformative, innovative creative work, our method is to utilize the synergy of highly interdisciplinary teams of faculty, students at all levels, and non-academic artists, scholars, and researchers. Can such interdisciplinary teams identify and realize significant new opportunities? We believe they can. You might say our philosophy is: The blending of the sciences, the arts, and humanities will lead to new paradigms that will positively transform culture.

Some of the questions our research seeks to answer:

Can computer gaming technology be used for art? How might they both be transformed?

What technology can be adapted or developed to enhance the performing arts (such as dance, music, theater, etc.)?

Can domain-specific interfaces be developed to enable non-programming artists and scholars flexible control of computer operations? Do virtual worlds like secondlife provide an inkling of what such interfaces might be like?

How can complex, dynamic artworks achieve widespread satisfying dissemination?

Specific projects we are currently pursuing include:

computer gaming/virtual worlds as art;

digital theatre; digital dance; digital music;

innovative art installations;

Some of the technologies we are using and developing include:

ubiquitous computing, sensor and tracking technologies;

visualization and sonification, including interactive video and audio;

user interfaces.