Live code, live art and the BwO dissection

This extended artist statement formulates some provocations to the possibilities of live performance which have been prompted by my involvement in a collaborative project between live coders and live artists. Acknowledging that both art forms share a pre-performance conception–operation frame work which then unfolds through live improvisation, I explore the differences in how each discipline summons the body (‘extended carnality’ in the case of live coding and ‘critical subjectivity’ in the case of live art) in order to provide fertile ground for each practice to challenge the presuppositions of the other. The formulation of my core concerns is facilitated through reference to Deleuze and Guattari’s BwO (body without organs).