DEMATERIALIZE! 
Behavior Mod & the 
Destruction of Meaning

An online exploration 


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The purpose of this investigation


is to to break down the structure of human behavior by examining the role of 
Behavior Analysis in the construction of meaning in art.  We will explore the possibility 
of behavior modification as a form of social sculpture. Particular attention will be given to 
the dematerialization of the art object through the application of a behavior analytic framework.  


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"To discuss what one is doing rather than the artwork that results, to attempt to unravel the loops of creative activity, is, in many ways, a Behavioural problem. The fusion of art, science and personality is involved. It leads to a consideration of our total relationship to a work of art, in which physical moves may lead to conceptual moves, in which Behaviour relates to Idea. . . 'An organism is most efficient when it knows its own internal order.'"

-Roy Ascott, "The Construction of Change," Cambridge Opinion 37 (January, 1964)

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Questions addressed in this course will include:

What can we learn by applying the laws of human behavior to an art-world context?
What might this application look like?  What is the role of the artist and viewer? 
Can the ability to alter human behavior operate as a form of art making in its own right?


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