Synopsis
Programming languages are logic systems: sets of rules that make up a way of thinking a programmer has to internalize to use. Esolangs take advantage of this to provide strange rule sets that play on meaning and nonsense, or otherwise construct an unusual point of view. It’s in using these weird tools to solve ordinary problems that their perspectives are exposed. Brainfuck, probably the best-known esolang, is simple, clear, and functional in its definition, but requires the programmer to construct long rants of gibberish to use, recalling work like Sol LeWitt’s Incomplete Open Cubes (1974), that similarly uses logic to take us on a ludicrous journey.

Bio
Daniel Temkin lives and works in Queens. He makes images, programming languages, and interactive pieces exploring our inherently broken patterns of thought. He holds an MFA in photography from the International Center of Photography / Bard College and is currently serving as artist-in-residence at Harvestworks for their one-year New Works residency. His work is included in Rhizome at the New Museum’s ArtBase collection, and his work was recently featured on PBS’s OffBook series. He has presented at conferences such as Media Art History (Rewire) at FACT, GLI.TC/H at School of the Art Institute, and CAA’s New Media Caucus at School of the Visual Arts.