
this installation & video entitled four letter words caught my eye, as described here by the maker himself:
Four Letter Words consists of four units, each capable of displaying all 26 letters of the alphabet with an arrangement of fluorescent lights. The piece displays an algorithmically generated word sequence derived from a word association database developed by the University of South Florida between 1973 and 1998. The algorithms take into account word meaning, rhyme, letter sequencing, and association. The algorithm’s tendency towards scatological or "dark" subject matter is influenced by a variety of language and perception studies, especially Elliot McGinnies’ 1949 study "Emotionality and Perceptual Defense."
err right… he also has kept a detailed blog documenting the whole process with more terms that are way out of my comprehension scope:
…english-like letter ordering. I made it by modifying a Markov-chain ruby script…a processing app on the bus-ride back from Boston. It places 4-letter words adjacently à la Christopher Wool…