Drawing with “obsolete” devices: discovering pen plotters

​Join us for a workshop at the Internet Archive Europe where we will explore how pen plotters from the 80s work, together with artists Emanuele Arrigoni and Claudio Castro Chaponan.

​During the workshop, we will get to know about pen plotters by working with them hands on, reading and writing instructions from an original manual that will translate in drawings and movements of pens on paper. In the past, these devices were used in offices to produce graphs and charts, but what can we use them for today?

​Emanuele and Claudio are two interdisciplinary artists that share an interest in researching the maintenance and reuse of so called “obsolete” media for artistic purposes. They will share how they search for documentation material of all kinds online to learn about old machinery, how does it work and how to interact with it today beyond its intended use.

​The purpose of this workshop is explorative, no previous experience is required, just bring your own curiosity!