An artist-programmer uses computer language as the medium of the artwork itself, not merely as a tool

McLean defines artist-programmers as end-user programmers who create software to realise their own artistic work rather than for others to use as tools. The code itself is the material and the creative act. This distinguishes them from designers who use pre-packaged software: the programmer’s relationship to the language is the relationship of a painter to their paint. The term explicitly couples artistic identity with programming identity, resisting the reduction of ‘programmer’ to mere technician. This matters for live coders because it frames technical fluency as artistic voice rather than technical service.

Examples

Slub (Ward + McLean) projected their screens to show audiences the code generating the music, insisting the algorithms were not just means to an end but the expressive act itself. Contrast: a musician using Ableton Live uses software; a live coder writing TidalCycles patterns is an artist-programmer.

Assessment

Distinguish an artist-programmer from (a) a software engineer building tools for others, (b) a generative artist who seeds autonomous processes and steps away, and (c) a musician who controls DAW software. Explain what makes the distinction non-trivial for how creativity and authorship are understood.