ablackbu – Section C – Looking Outwards 02

The topic of my Looking Outwards post this week is a man-made artist. I saw this installation at Wood Street Galleries in downtown Pittsburgh and have been thinking about it ever since. The installation is called Robotlab.

Robotlab robot writing the bible

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The installation consists of two robots (installed for 8 months) that are connected to drawing instruments.

On the lower level, “The Big Picture” is using one continuous pen line to draw a detail landscape of Mars. Being that this robot is drawing continuously for 8 months one can imagine how every day more and more resolution comes to the image.

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The second robot, “Bios” (bible), is also continuously moving for 8 months but instead of drawing, it is copying down the bible (as seen below). Every single letter takes about 10 seconds to draw and looks perfect when it is done.

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The thing I admire most about this project is the level of patients that the artist has. These both almost take a year to complete and standing in that room you can feel the tension in the air caused by how slow it operates.

At the same time the way this is coded makes it so elegant and complex yet so perfect and calculated. I think it shows a lot about the artist’s personality.

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Video:

 

svitoora – 02 Looking Outwards

Digitally generated column head.

Michael Hansmeyer‘s Generative Columns 

The artist worked alone to digitally generate these column, but collaborated with others to technically execute these into physical objects. Each column starts off with a cube. The cube is then algorithmically folded along certain “humanly invisible” spots. These “humanly invisible” spots refers to the mathematical maxima or minima on the surfaces of the object based on certain mathematical interpretations such as: tangency, tension, normals ,etc.

Digitally generated column physically existing thanks to laser-cutting.

Columns are exemplars of the century. From the Chinese to the Greeks, columns carry with them the aesthetic and moral values of the culture at a given point in time. Task with the job to design columns for 21st century, Hansmeyer decided to digitally generate these column and made them from stacking laser cut paper. According to Hansmeyer, the 21st century can be classified by the rise of the Digital Age and algorithms, therefore columns that are permuted and generated digitally by the computer to exemplify this era’s aesthetic seems appropriate.

Algorithmically generated details of the column. Architecturally, these fine details would be humanly impossible to plan and render, but currently it’s made possible by the computer.

Connie-Looking Outwards-02

The project that I found inspirational and interesting was the “Laser Forest (2013)” by Memo Akten.

Video of the “Laser Forest shown on Akten’s website.

What I admire most about the project is that it combines music, light, and interactivity to create a unique experience. The “forest” consists of rods and lasers which can be pulled, waved, twirled, etc. to create sound. Each tree is tuned to a specific note and the material used to create the forest has a “natural springiness” to it. I think the artist’s sensibilities were manifested in the algorithm through the emphasis on interacting with the musical rods to create something more than what is presently there (that is, the music; otherwise the forest is silent).

The forest’s algorithm was created using openFrameworks and Akten and his studio, Marshmallow Laser Feast, have posted their code and process on Github. There are files that map out the order of the 150 trees within the 450 sq.meters along with the specific note/frequency to which each “tree” is tuned to. I don’t know specifically how the algorithm works but in their source code, they have functions that I would imagine work similarly to the mousePresssed/mouseDragged functions which involve a conditional trigger in order to start an event (in this case, the trigger would be movement of the rods to trigger the tune from each tree).

Sheenu-Looking Outwards-02

An interesting generated art piece I found was a very grotesque grotto made by artists Benjamin Dillenburger and Michael Hansmeyer. The grotto was constructed through 3D printed sandstone and two 156 gigabyte computational algorithms that took two years to develop. Construction and assembly of the grotto itself took a month and two days. It was commissioned by the Centre Pompidou in Paris for a 2017 exhibition on 3D printed art. What I like about the grotto is the natural and organic design it has. It never ceases to amaze me on how a computer can make something so beautiful. Buildings in general tend to look man-made, no matter how natural and organic it tries to look. This is probably due to the fact that people can make small mistakes in the design and cannot make extremely complicated and organic designs. With computers, the grotto was perfectly constructed and also perfectly complex in order to create a perfectly organic-looking structure. According to the artist, the grotto was made not for function, but rather spurring imagination and amazement for computer art.



http://www.archdaily.com/868540/this-mysterious-3d-printed-grotto-challenges-boundaries-of-computational-geometry-and-human-perception

A 3D printed grotto generated with an algorithm

agusman-Looking Outwards Post 02-Reface

http://eyewriter.org/
Eye Writer

Project: Eyewriter


Artists/Organizations:
Free Art and Technology (FAT)
OpenFrameworks
The Ebeling Group
the Graffiti Research Lab: Tempt1, Evan Roth, Chris Sugrue, Zach Lieberman, Theo Watson, James Powderly.

“Art is a tool of empowerment and social change, and I consider myself blessed to be able to create and use my work to promote health reform, bring awareness about ALS and help others.”
~ Tempt One

This project, spearheaded by the Free Art and Technology collective, is an incredible installment of new media art merging into the field of social innovation. Eyewriter, the name of the product, is a tool comprising of a low-cost, open source eye-tracking system that people with inhibited movement or degenerative muscle disorders like ALS can use to draw with their eyes.

The FAT team worked with LA graffiti artist, Tempt1 who was diagnozed with ALS in 2003. ALS has left him completely paralyzed, with the exception of his eyes. With this open sourced software and product, he is able to continue sketching large-scale graffiti and plastering it onto the walls of buildings using large-scale projectors.

agusman-Project02-VariableFace

agusman-02-variableface

//
// Anna Gusman
// agusman@cmu.edu
// Section A
// Project 02
// This program creates variable faces

var faceWidth = 150;
var faceHeight = 150;
var eyeVelX = 0; //eye velocity x
var eyeVelY = 0.4; //eye velocity y
var eyeSize = 40;
var rightEye = 40;
var leftEye = 40;
var leftEyeX = 5;
var leftEyeY = 20;
var rightEyeX = 40;
var rightEyeY = 20;
var eyeColor1;
var eyeColor2;
var mouthWidth = 100;
var mouthHeight = 50;
var mouthXcor = 30;
var mouthYcor = 50;
var color1;
var color2;

function setup() {
    createCanvas(400, 400);
    eyeColor1 = color(0)
    eyeColor2 = color(255, 200, 255);
}

function draw() {
    stroke(0.1)
    background(255, 255, 255);
    fill(255,255,255);

    //Head//
    from = color(255, 219, 0);
    to = color(182, 152, 0);
    noStroke();
    var eyeLX = width / 2 - faceWidth * 0.25;
    var eyeRX = width / 2 + faceWidth * 0.25;
    ellipse(eyeLX, height / 2, leftEye, leftEye);
    ellipse(eyeRX, height / 2, rightEye, rightEye);

    noStroke()
    from = color(255, 217, 0);
    to = color(253, 176, 0);
    for (var i = 0; i < faceWidth; i++) {
      fill(lerpColor(to, from, (i+1)/faceWidth));
      ellipse(width / 2 , height/2 - i*0 , faceWidth-i, faceHeight-i);
  }
    //Draw eyes in the right order
    if (eyeVelX>0) {
      drawLeftEye();
      drawRightEye();
    } else {
      drawRightEye();
      drawLeftEye();
    }

    //mouth//
    arc(mouthXcor / .15, mouthYcor / .2, mouthHeight, mouthWidth, 0, PI);

}

    //Left Eye//
function drawLeftEye(){
    noStroke()
    from = color(0, 0, 0);
    to = color(255, 200, 255);
    for (var i = 0; i < leftEye; i++) {
      fill(lerpColor(eyeColor1, eyeColor2, (i+1)/eyeSize));
      ellipse(width / 2 - i + rightEyeX, height/2 - i*eyeVelY - rightEyeY, eyeSize-i, eyeSize-i);
  }
}
    //Right Eye//
function drawRightEye(){
    noStroke()
    from = color(0, 0, 0);
    to = color(255, 200, 255);
    for (var i = 0; i < rightEye; i++) {
        fill(lerpColor(to, from, (i+1)/rightEye));
        ellipse(width / 2.5 - i + leftEyeX, height/2 - i*eyeVelY - leftEyeY, eyeSize-i, eyeSize-i);
  }
}

function mousePressed() {
    // when the user clicks, these variables are reassigned
    // to random values within specified ranges.
    faceWidth = random(150, 200);
    faceHeight = random(150, 200);
    eyeSize = random(30, 50);
    rightEye = random(0, 40);
    leftEye = random(0, 40);
    mouthHeight = random(10,80)
    mouthWidth = random(20, 50)
    eyeColor1;
    eyeColor2;
}

function windowResized() {
    resizeCanvas(windowWidth, windowHeight);
}

This project pushed me in ways I could not expect. My initial vision was to play with the idea of exploring all the possible iterations between a set of my favorite emojis, allowing me to generatively view all the intermediary emotional states between them. I also wanted to play with gradients to give an extra dimension to these expressions- and thus I hurled myself into the realm of for loops. I realize that this may have been beyond the scope of the assignment, but it was fascinating to learn the logic and technique behind creating this visual element and how a computer understands to draw it.

Looking-Outwards-02

https://www.quayola.com/sculpture-factory/

The Scultpure Factory; Quayola; 2016

The Sculpture Factory by Quayola is a showing of digital fabrication as different finishes of a 3D scanned sculpture are milled out in foam by a robot. By arranging the six unfinished trial sculptures for reference comparisons, Quayola creates a “hybrid vision – a slow process of discovery not focused on the original figure but on the infinite possibilities of how to reach it” (Quayola).

What I know about the algorithm Quayola uses for the robot is that its outcome is to refine overtime. The first sculpture, for example, uses the main, block shapes to punch out connected mountains of form, and smaller, more defined tools will detail the indentations on these mountains more, working with a large shape and finishing at the top also. The last mill moves linearly to erase the harsh steps of these mountains and create definition.

Hannah Kim- Looking Outwards- 02

The project I chose is called “Boil Up” by Robert Hodgin, 2013. The project is a group dynamics simulation work that aims to replicate the behaviors of frenzied fish in plankton rich waters. Hodgin managed to simulate these behaviors, such as flocking, predator and obstacle avoidance, and pursuit, using code in complex 3D models. Hodgin claims that the task was particularly difficult because he had to figure out how to organize the fish and keep them corralled, without feeling like he was imposing unnatural restrictions on their behavior. I can really see Hodgin’s realistic artistic sensibilities coming out in his algorithms, seeing that he went from working with mathematical shapes, to pushing realistic and complex 3D models. I really admire this about his work, and how he was able to manipulate code to simulate such a complex and specific action/behavior. Seeing the result is surreal, and I really feel as if I am in the middle of this crazy fish feeding session, watching the animals swim around me.

Here is a link to the video:

Shark cam from flight404 on Vimeo.

HaeWanPark-LookingOutwards-2

I AM By Sergio Albiac, 2016

I am Portraits by Sergio Albiac

“I am portrait” is a generative collage portrait project by Sergio Albiac. The main source of this project is personal data of one who is portrayed. With his generative custom computer code, Sergio transforms gathered data into a portrait which is an identity metaphor. The portrait which is depicted in the typographic illustration consists of all the personal data that tells stories about the person who is portrayed. He intended his generative computer code to become a medium to tell someone’s personal story and to represent his or her identity. He also developed his own generative techniques and sentiment analysis to have his own artistic style. His generative technique uses machine learning networks trained by only him in order to prevent imitating other artist’s style.

This artwork is incorporated with machine learning. It includes a system being trained from an artist who executes. What I think interesting is he only uses one person’s data at once and also trains machine learning networks alone. So, the portrait is made out of unique personal data within the uniquely trained machine learning networks. In my opinion, this artist understands that visual representation conveying personal meaning must be unique. It is pretty successful to illustrate someone’s unique identity within artist’s own expression and style.

BrandonHyun-LookingOutwards-02

Marius Watz is an artist that uses generative software processes to create visual abstraction. Many of his digital artworks contain hard edged geometrical shapes and vivid colors. Some of his art works are in the public space and physical objects are produced through digital fabrication technology.

Project “UCracking” is a generative visual based on subdivision algorithms applied to 2D and 3D triangles. It was created in 2014 for Absolut Exchange show. In order to find the true beauty of his work, one needs to know the definition of Subdivision Algorithms.

 

The Subdivision is a technique in computer aided geometric design for the approximation of a smooth surface by a sequence of increasingly faceted polyhedra.

After knowing the definition of Subdivision it is astonishing how these shapes are created. However, this artwork could have been improved if the viewer can interact with the artwork itself. Giving movement to the artwork could have been more intriguing rather than being a static image. However, the artist definitely gave an intense feeling about hard edged geometrical shapes and vivid colors.

Since Marius Watz began his career by designing psychedelic computer renderings that could have influenced his work until today. He is also interested in dynamic geometric shape so he applies that to his work.

http://mariuswatz.com/

http://hakenberg.de/subdivision/subdivision.htm

http://mariuswatz.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/20110808-Artforum.com-critics-pick-Automatic-Writing.pdf