Christa Sommerer and Laurent Mignonneau’s Life Writer

Christa Sommerer and Laurent Mignonneau’s Life Writer, an excellent example of mid-2000s cybernetic—or feedback loop-based art—that was artificial life in nature. It was exhibited for the first time in 2006 at the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland (MOCA). It continues to be exhibited in museums around the world as of 2024. The work carries on the tradition of Duchamp from the early-twentieth century, cybernetics in the mid-twentieth century and evolutionary art of the later-twentieth century. It thus connects these movements as well to contemporary AI art that’s based on feedback loops, evolutionary algorithms and self-learning. Sommerer and Mignonneau’s interactive installation Life Writer visually merged the nostalgic charm of a vintage typewriter with advanced artificial life technology. Debuting as a poignant fusion of analog and digital realms, the artwork transforms the simple act of typing into a generative process of life creation. When users type, the characters are projected onto paper, morphing into dynamic, black-and-white creatures upon hitting the carriage return. These creatures, governed by genetic algorithms derived from the duo’s earlier work, Life Spacies, exhibit behaviors influenced by the textual “genetic code” input by the user. In this digital ecosystem, the artificial life forms must consume text to survive, growing and reproducing as they interact with newly typed characters. Users can manipulate these creatures using the typewriter’s scroll, adding a tactile dimension to the digital interaction. Life Writer not only revisits the history of text processing but also invites users to ponder the creation of life and interaction within an emergent system.