Score for Papers#

Mill Mission#

The papermill exists to make the thinking inside Aesthetic Computer visible and shareable. AC generates a constant stream of ideas, experiments, and design decisions — most of which live only in code, commits, and conversation. The mill's job is to catch that stream and press it into forms that can leave the building: papers, cards, references, scores.

The mill is not an academic obligation. It is a publishing infrastructure — a way to keep the research platter honest by forcing ideas through the pressure of writing them down for someone else. If a thread can survive being written as a paper, it was real. If it can survive being compressed to a card, it was essential.

What This Is#

Papers are one output of a research platter — a living collection of materials, references, experiments, and threads that accumulate over time. The platter is always growing. Papers are what gets carved off and shaped into a form that can travel: to a conference, to a reader, to a card.

Each paper starts from a question or observation inside the Aesthetic Computer project and tries to make it legible to someone outside the project. The goal is not to be exhaustive but to be honest about what the work is and why it matters.

Process#

platter (raw material: notes, code, conversations, references)
  → thread (a question or observation worth following)
    → draft (a paper that tries to answer or frame it)
      → formats (arXiv two-column, cards single-sheet, JOSS software paper)
        → targets (conferences, journals, submissions, mail art)

The platter feeds everything. Threads get pulled from it. Some threads become papers, some become code, some stay threads. Papers can be rendered in multiple formats — the same .tex source produces both a full arXiv-style PDF and a single-sheet index card via cards-convert.mjs.

Formats#

arXiv: Two-column academic layout with AC custom fonts, syntax-highlighted code, development history, adoption metrics. For preprint submission and sharing.
Cards: Single-sheet index-card layout reformatted from arXiv source. Designed for printing, passing hand to hand, pinning on walls.
JOSS: Condensed software papers for Journal of Open Source Software. Markdown with LaTeX includes. JOSS reviews focus on software quality, documentation, and community impact.

Translations#

Every paper exists in four languages: English, Danish, Spanish, and Chinese. Translations are generated and maintained alongside the English source. This is not decoration — it reflects a commitment to the work being accessible beyond the anglophone academic world.

Papers#

Sorted by most recently edited/added.

Paper	Format	PDF	Source
The URL Tradition	arXiv (LaTeX)	`arxiv-url-tradition/url-tradition.pdf`	`arxiv-url-tradition/url-tradition.tex`
The Potter and the Prompt	arXiv (LaTeX)	`arxiv-holden/holden.pdf`	`arxiv-holden/holden.tex`
Two Departments, One Building	arXiv (LaTeX)	`arxiv-ucla-arts/ucla-arts.pdf`	`arxiv-ucla-arts/ucla-arts.tex`
Handle Identity on the AT Protocol	arXiv (LaTeX)	`arxiv-identity/identity.pdf`	`arxiv-identity/identity.tex`
Five Years from Now: What Aesthetic Computer Probably Becomes	arXiv (LaTeX)	`arxiv-futures/futures.pdf`	`arxiv-futures/futures.tex`
Get Closed Source Out of Schools	arXiv (LaTeX)	`arxiv-open-schools/open-schools.pdf`	`arxiv-open-schools/open-schools.tex`
CalArts, Callouts, and Papers	arXiv (LaTeX)	`arxiv-calarts/calarts.pdf`	`arxiv-calarts/calarts.tex`
Reading the Score: A Critical Analysis of SCORE.md	arXiv (LaTeX)	`arxiv-score-analysis/score-analysis.pdf`	`arxiv-score-analysis/score-analysis.tex`
KidLisp Cards: Programs That Fit on a Card	arXiv (LaTeX)	`arxiv-kidlisp-cards/kidlisp-cards.pdf`	`arxiv-kidlisp-cards/kidlisp-cards.tex`
Sucking on the Complex	arXiv (LaTeX)	`arxiv-complex/complex.pdf`	`arxiv-complex/complex.tex`
Playable Folk Songs	arXiv (LaTeX)	`arxiv-folk-songs/folk-songs.pdf`	`arxiv-folk-songs/folk-songs.tex`
Every Sound is a Painting: Sampling as Visual-Auditory Practice	arXiv (LaTeX)	`arxiv-sampling/sampling.pdf`	`arxiv-sampling/sampling.tex`
PLORKing the Planet: From Laptop Orchestra to Planetary Organ	arXiv (LaTeX, 8pp)	`arxiv-plork/plork.pdf`	`arxiv-plork/plork.tex`
From setup() to boot(): Processing at the Core of the Piece API	arXiv (LaTeX, 7pp)	`arxiv-api/api.pdf`	`arxiv-api/api.tex`
Network Audit: Who Uses Aesthetic Computer and What Do They Make?	arXiv (LaTeX, 4pp)	`arxiv-network-audit/network-audit.pdf`	`arxiv-network-audit/network-audit.tex`
KidLisp Language Reference: 118 Built-ins in 12 Categories	arXiv (LaTeX, 4pp)	`arxiv-kidlisp-reference/kidlisp-reference.pdf`	`arxiv-kidlisp-reference/kidlisp-reference.tex`
Whistlegraph: Drawing, Singing, and the Graphic Score as Viral Form	arXiv (LaTeX, 4pp)	`arxiv-whistlegraph/whistlegraph.pdf`	`arxiv-whistlegraph/whistlegraph.tex`
Dead Ends: Failed Experiments and Abandoned Approaches	arXiv (LaTeX, 4pp)	`arxiv-dead-ends/dead-ends.pdf`	`arxiv-dead-ends/dead-ends.tex`
Who Pays for Creative Tools?	arXiv (LaTeX, 5pp)	`arxiv-sustainability/sustainability.pdf`	`arxiv-sustainability/sustainability.tex`
Radical Computer Art: Goodiepalian Approaches	arXiv (LaTeX, 4pp)	`arxiv-goodiepal/goodiepal.pdf`	`arxiv-goodiepal/goodiepal.tex`
Repository Archaeology: Tracing AC Through Its Git History	arXiv (LaTeX, 3pp)	`arxiv-archaeology/archaeology.pdf`	`arxiv-archaeology/archaeology.tex`
Diversity and Inclusion in AC Paper Citations	arXiv (LaTeX, 4pp)	`arxiv-diversity/diversity.pdf`	`arxiv-diversity/diversity.tex`
KidLisp: A Minimal Lisp for Generative Art	arXiv (LaTeX, 6pp)	`arxiv-kidlisp/kidlisp.pdf`	`arxiv-kidlisp/kidlisp.tex`
notepat.com: From Keyboard Toy to System Front Door	arXiv (LaTeX, 5pp)	`arxiv-notepat/notepat.pdf`	`arxiv-notepat/notepat.tex`
AC Native OS '26	arXiv (LaTeX, 5pp)	`arxiv-os/os.pdf`	`arxiv-os/os.tex`
Aesthetic Computer '26	arXiv (LaTeX, 5pp)	`arxiv-ac/ac.pdf`	`arxiv-ac/ac.tex`
Pieces Not Programs: The Piece as a Unit of Creative Cognition	arXiv (LaTeX, 4pp)	`arxiv-pieces/pieces.pdf`	`arxiv-pieces/pieces.tex`
Aesthetic Computer '26	JOSS (Markdown)	`joss-ac/paper.pdf`	`joss-ac/paper.md`
KidLisp '26	JOSS (Markdown)	`joss-kidlisp/paper.pdf`	`joss-kidlisp/paper.md`

Building#

Automatic (Oven Papermill)#

PDFs are auto-built on the oven server whenever papers/ changes are pushed to main. The pipeline polls git every 60s, detects changes, and runs node papers/cli.mjs publish (xelatex 3-pass for all papers × 4 languages + deploy + index update).

Monitor: GET oven.aesthetic.computer/papers-build
Manual trigger: POST oven.aesthetic.computer/papers-build (requires admin key)
SSE logs: GET oven.aesthetic.computer/papers-build/:jobId/stream
Source: oven/papers-builder.mjs, oven/papers-git-poller.mjs

Manual (Local)#

# Full pipeline: build all → deploy → update index → verify
node papers/cli.mjs publish

# Build only English PDFs
node papers/cli.mjs build en

# Build cards format
node papers/papermill.mjs build --format cards

# Check status of all papers
node papers/cli.mjs status

# Individual paper (manual 3-pass build)
cd papers/arxiv-ac && xelatex ac.tex && bibtex ac && xelatex ac.tex && xelatex ac.tex

Subdomain#

Published at papers.aesthetic.computer and papers.prompt.ac.

Targets#

Upcoming conferences and journals to submit to.

Still Open — Deadlines Ahead#

Venue	Type	Deadline	Conference Date	Status
ACM C&C 2026	Demos	Apr 16, 2026	Jul 13–16, London	GO
ICCC 2026	Short Papers	Apr 24, 2026	Jun 29–Jul 3, Coimbra	GO
JOSS	Software Paper	Rolling	Rolling	Anytime
Scores for Social Software	Card Deck	Mar 31, 2026	Apr 2, UCLA	GO

Deadlines Passed (Track for Next Year)#

NIME, xCoAx, ACM CHI, SIGGRAPH, Prix Ars Electronica, S+T+ARTS — all missed for 2026. Track 2027 calls.

Funding Sources#

Source	Type	Amount
Gary Marsden Travel Awards	Travel grant	Flights, lodging, meals, registration
Creative Capital Award	Project grant	Up to $50,000
Foundation for Contemporary Arts	Emergency Grant	Varies
Prix Ars Electronica	Prize	€10,000 (Golden Nica)

Author#

@jeffrey — ORCID: 0009-0007-4460-4913