“Access Codes”: The Politics of Inclusion in Art

Code, though often invisible, is integral to modern society, shaping technology and reinforcing societal norms. Its dual role as a foundational framework and an enforcer of conventions makes it ripe for critical examination, particularly regarding accesss and inclusion. This project explores how code intersects with norms and art, challenging traditional perceptions of both digital and physical environments, unveiling their hidden mechanisms.

Carolyn Lazard’s works, including Remise Ramp (2021) and A Conspiracy (2017), tests accessibility of museum spaces and their role in enabling interrelational exhchange. Alexa Vaughn’s integration of deafspace into landscape design (Vaughn, 2018) forges a more inclusive practice of lanscape architecture and historic preservation through sensory mappings and storytelling. Donal Rodney’s posthumous work Autoicon (1997-2000) uses digital archiving to explore the fragility of digital art amid technological obsolescence, raising critical questions about preserving marginalized histories in a digital age.

This research investigates the epistemological value of code as a medium in the context of criptech art. It explores how these multivalent art practices recalibrate the systems, tools, and techniques that shape the dissemination of technical knowledge. Additionally, it addresses alternative experiences of time, particularly ‘crip time,’ a flexible, non-linear concept related to disability. By examining the intersections of art, disability, and technology, the project advocates for a reevaluation of codes’ role—not merely as instruments of control but as catalysts for an aesthetic and politics of access.