They are a continuation of the courses on the impact of digital culture on artistic practices taught at EESAB since The persona of the artist is often associated with non-conformism, with their critical and liberating relationship with society. At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century, art broke free from the academic institution β which reflected State-controlled art β to get rid of the norms in force at that time.
Whether from a modernist discourse or an avant-garde position, art has more or less radically opposed capitalist domination and continues to claim its ability to liberate people. What would be an art detached from the criteria of visibility? Which visibility regimes develop in the shadows? Which similarities do hackers maintain with artists? What is an art whose motive is hacking? The research line started in in support of these initial questions.
During those two years, it appeared to us that the hack was a much larger gesture than the one we usually attribute to the computer programmer, offering a whole constellation of personas, from the solitary deed to collective movements, from the anonymous person to Edward Snowden.
Hackers, as represented in our collective imagination, develop a wide range of differing interpretations, are being referred to as cyberterrorists by the media or, in a more positive vein, called cyberactivists and hacktivists. We also felt that it was necessary to free ourselves from the current trend that is turning hacking into an innovation-looking phenomenon. The start-up replaced the hack that is now part of Newspeak thanks to a well-tested reversal mechanism.
Engaging in double dealing and maintaining the trouble, thwarting classifications, making our practices less identifiable and therefore less seizable in the face of attempts at assignment and recontextualization, are all main elements that have contributed to the foundations of Hacking Practices.
