LookingOutwards-09-Chickoff

In this Looking Outwards post, I’ll be talking about Michelle Janco’s Looking Outwards post for Week 5 where she focused on a a piece by Mikael Hvidtfeldt Christensen called “Algebraic Decay” which was uploaded on October 19, 2012. Christensen is a physicist who creates 3D generative artworks using open source applications called Structure Synth and Fragmentarium.

In terms of Michelle’s assessment of the work, I definitely agree with her that the landscape and makeup of the artwork is very biological and organic. It’s curious that it is difficult to recognize what this form is. There aren’t enough hints, and so the viewer is left to guess whether this is this a cell, a living creature, a landscape, and so on. I enjoy this guessing game and find it important that art has rational elements to ground it, but still remains ambiguous enough that it confuses the viewer and makes them question what they are looking at.

What does frustrate me however is that the background of this work is grey and barren, which only emphasizes the fact that this is computer generated. Whether this was Christensen’s intention or not, I can’t help but be reminded of the dull backdrop of programs such as Maya and Rhino3D. This makes it seem even more unlike something that could actually exist in our world, and fails to convince viewers that it does belong.