Daniel Temkin: Forty-Four Esolangs. The Art of Esoteric Code

In the organizer's words:

What happens when programming languages are not aimed at functioning and efficiency, but at irritation and reflection, or have the effect of poetry? In his publication "Forty-Four Esolangs: The Art of Esoteric Code", published by The MIT Press in 2025, artist Daniel Temkin brings together so-called "esoteric programming languages" - radical experiments at the limits of what code can be.

Temkin's Esolangs challenge programmers to write code based on music, photography or sculpture, in the form of prayers to the Greek gods, based on biological, geological or astronomical processes or as patterns of empty folders. They can be collaborative or poetic inspirations in the tradition of the Fluxus movement. Temkin thus questions conventional definitions of language, code and computers and demonstrates the potential of Esolangs as an art of ideas.

"Forty-Four Esolangs" raises questions about the relationship between code, human creativity and artificial intelligence or the use of artistic programming languages. It focuses on agency, materiality, social contexts and the political dimension of programming languages.

Daniel Temkin will present his publication, published by The MIT Press in 2025, followed by a discussion.

Daniel Temkin (*1973, Boston) works with photography and computer art. In 2011 he started the blog and research project "esoteric.codes", for which he received an ArtsWriters.org grant from Creative Capital and the Warhol Foundation as well as a residency at the New Museum. Temkins publishes in journals such as "Hyperallergic", "Leonardo" and "Digital Humanities Quarterly". He has been an artist-in-residence at Pioneer Works, Harvestworks and Signal Culture and has exhibited at the Whitney Museum, Museau do Chiado, Haus der elektronischen Künste and the ZKM, among others.