Mark Webster: The Recode Project
Thursday 10th September 2026, 18:00
Zoom
In this presentation, Mark Webster retraces his interest in the ReCode project, sharing work undertaken with his students but also anecdotes that have become guiding principles as well as good food for thought. Organised and introduced by Geoff Davis.
About the Talk
The ReCode Project was initiated in 2012 by Matthew Epler as a community-driven effort to preserve computer art. The concept was simple: choose a computer art work and reconstruct the work using a modern-day programming language. The project sought to raise awareness of a little-known history.
It equally had a role to educate and was a means to share work for others to learn from and build on. While its beginnings sparked online interest for a small and devoted circle of artists working with code, it unfortunately lost steam and the project was finally archived. In that short space of time, however, Mark Webster had personally become fascinated by the history of algorithmic art and had already contacted a prominent pioneer in the field to come to France and share his experience of 'recoding'. It was the beginning of educational work inspired directly from Epler's initiative but considerably enriched by the experiences that ensued.
