My Mother's Letters is an attempt at simulation, an artificial re-creation of the handwriting of the artist's mother. The drawings were done with the help of a computer and a plotter, except for one series, where the artist used a printer instead of a plotter. The author has created and used a suite of computer programs called Smallworld to identify the essential characteristics of participatory works of art that use computer technology. The origins and development of Smallworld are described here and the findings of the research summarized. Artists can be seen as composers of the changing degree and manner of control.
Participants interpret the compositions, just as musicians interpret musical compositions.
The quality of the realization of the work will depend on participant skill in using the physical and programmed interface. The author proposes the theory of extensionalism as an approach to understanding our reality perception. This approach starts with the extension of the self and can be understood by studying a certain kind of art. Comparison of these theories is presented as an illustration of the similarities between artistic and scientific approaches to creative and cognitive processes. This paper explores the relation between art and science using an investigation of aesthetics, modes of representation and creativity in these disciplines.