To our knowledge, this is the first award given and solely dedicated to software art. This award is not about what is com­ monly understood as multimedia - where the focus is on data that can openly been seen, heard and felt. This award is about algorithms; it is about the code which generates, processes and combines what you see, hear and feel.
While the code of a mere image, sound or text file passively relies on other pieces of software in order to be perceivable and editable, program code actually actively manipulates the machine. Perhaps the most fascinating aspect of computing is that code - whether displayed as text or as binary numbers - can be machine-executable, that an innocuous piece of writing may upset, reprogram, crash the system.
Computer viruses might be seen as a critical form of software art because they make so-called users aware that digital code is virulent. Computer software is not simply a tool. Every program that pretends to be a tool disguises itself. You expect that “Save" will save and not erase. This feeling that you understand and control what the software is doing in the machine can only be based on trust in the programmer.
For us, software art is opposed to the notion of software as a tool. Software art has the potential to make us aware that digital code is not harmless, that it is not restricted to simulations of other tools, and that is itself a ground for creative practice.' Jury: Florian Cramer (D) lecturer in comparative literature and free software expert, Ulrike Gabriel (D) artist, Codelab manager jury statement John F. Simon jr. (US) artist