Generative art emphasises autonomous process and distance from the author; software art embeds the human in the code

Galanter’s definition of generative art requires a degree of autonomy: the process must run without ongoing human intervention. Software art treats code as an extension of the human, embedding the programmer’s activity in the work. McLean positions artist-programmers closer to software art, where authorship is unambiguous because the programmer is visibly present. The key practical implication for live coders: making algorithmic autonomy explicit versus keeping human agency central is a deliberate aesthetic choice. The two poles are not mutually exclusive but represent different emphases on who or what is the creative agent.

Examples

Brian Eno’s generative music (seed + autonomous growth) versus a Slub live-coding performance (hands-on, every change intentional). TOPLAP’s ‘show us your screens’ manifesto underlines software art’s insistence on visible human authorship.

Assessment

Given a description of a computer music performance, classify it as leaning generative or software-art and justify using the autonomy/human-embeddedness axis. Identify one way a live coder could deliberately shift their practice along this axis.