Category: LookingOutwards-02

Sharon Yang Looking Outwards – 02

Algorithmic artwork that I find highly inspirational and intriguing are of  Herbert W. Franke, named ‘Lightforms’ (Lichtformen) and ‘Ultra Light'(Ultralicht). Franke is a German scientist and artist of the 1950s. His contributions to digital art is admirable as he pioneered the very first form of generative/algorithmic art. His first work in the mid 1950s was created through using an oscilloscope and a camera to generate patterns in groups of continuous lines. (Source: dada.compart-bremen.de/item/agent/188) The artwork ‘Lichtformen’ consists of a multitude of mathematically generated curves without any interruptions or kinks. The gradient has been created through mechanically generating vibrations.

The following image is the Dracula series created in 1970/71. It has been generated by computer graphics based on “Dragon curves”, which is a form of mathematical fractals. (Source: digitalartmuseum.org/franke/1953-1978a.html)

The creativity of the artist to pioneering incorporating scientific and mathematical algorithms into arts is very inspiring and his artworks continue to inspire many scientists and artists in the field.

Kyle Leve – Looking Outwards – 02

link: http://iquilezles.org/apps/soundtoy/index.html
Sound Toy Software

A generative art that I discovered this week that I found very interesting is the application known as Sound Toy. This application was created by Inigo Quilez in 2011, and its function is the use different mathematical formulas to create and design music and visuals only using the keys on a standard computer. The software utilizes a keyboard where different keys serve as different keys on the piano, thus making it possible to play a note with a single press of a key. There are also many other instruments that you can use and create sounds from! In addition, there are ways to design a wave using mathematical formulas to create a visual cue that goes with the music. I feel as though Quilez wanted to combine his love of visual effects as well as his love for sound/music, and that is apparent in his algorithms. What inspires me about this project is that there are so many elements to it that would make it seem so complicated to use, however all it takes to figure it out is just to mess around with different tools for a little while. I like how this application combines both sound and visual art to allow the user to easily create something that one may have previously assumed to be too complicated to use.

Adam He – Looking Outwards – 02

Phoenix International Media Center, Designed by BIAD

The field of architecture has been developing a new type of design strategy in the past few decades. Based on conventional modern space designs, some architects are passionate about so-called “parametric design,” which is a style of architectural design that is generated through the use of algorithms and computer programming. One of the most well-known pioneers of this field is the principal of Zaha Hadid Architects Patrik Schumacher. Schumacher spearheaded this concept called “parametricism.” This type of  design methodologies are highly computer-based, employing 3D modeling softwares like Rhino and Revit, as well as scripting platforms like Grasshopper and GH Python. Generative modeling enables complex forms and structures to be created through scripts easily, which is almost impossible to model by hand. However, the fabrication methods are not caught up with the parametric designs that architects theorize today. Fabrication of parametric architecture requires an extraordinary amount of money and time. In fact, the original design of the 2020 main stadium of the Olympics in Tokyo, designed by Zaha Hadid, was renounced because of the difficulties in terms of the budget.

A render of parametric architecture by Patrik Schumacher

Though still encountering a lot of difficulties in the reality, parametric architecture is a theory that will dominate the architecture industry sooner or later. As architecture majors, we heavily focus on modern world software society, and we take generative modeling courses that teach grasshopper and gh python. Getting more familiar with parametric architecture, I am looking forward to capturing more of the yet abstract concepts and theories about algorithms in the field of art and architecture.

Kevin Riordan Looking Outwards-02-Section C

This video is called Fractal Meditation, and was made by William Rood using algorithms in I think 2017, based on when it was published. The creator used 3d Mandelbrot sets to create the fractals, and the only thing I know about the algorithm is that it uses spherical coordinates. I suppose the movement and generation is related to the music that plays, as the colors and what appears seem to be somewhat influenced by the sound. I admire how long the video is, and how unique every single part actually is. Nothing ever actually repeats, even though everything changes so gradually. I think usually when something is this long, parts repeat especially when the sound is so constant, because this video is meant to be meditative. However, because of whatever algorithm is used, everything is so complex and unique that I do not think it would repeat even if the video was an hour long, which I admire alot.

Curran Zhang-LookingOutwards-2

The focus of this project,GRIS, was to create an interactive reality for people to enjoy. Designed by Nomada Studio, the game was designed to allow players to explore the imaginative world or watercolors. Within the game, crimson mountains, cyan ruins, and irregular trees are created to feature the scene, which is sometimes more important than the character. Motions within the game mimics the property of water coloring on paper.

A part of the game where the setting is more important than the character

Nomada Studio started with game designers Adrian Cuevas and Roger Mendoza met artist Conrad Roset. GRIS is the company’s first production and brought upon the idea to beautifully blend art and gaming together. By using the different platforms and property of each theme, the production creates a very engaging perspective for gamer. This game is a representation of the mixture of fields in jobs. Even though game design is mathematical and very rigid, it was able to bring in the creativeness and playful aspect of art. Like this class, the game itself is a bridge that combines digital coding and art.

Various motions within the game are representations of water-coloring properties.
Usage of different color blends to bring out the mood

 

Article: https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2018/09/gris-video-game-by-nomada-studio/

Philip Gates – Looking Outwards 02

Ben Rubin – Shakespeare Machine (2012)

Shakespeare Machine installed in the lobby of the Public Theater, NYC. Photo by Ben Rubin.

Ben Rubin’s Shakespeare Machine uses an algorithm to select phrases or combinations of words from Shakespeare’s plays, and displays them on a series of 37 LED screens installed in a chandelier in the lobby of New York’s Public Theater. Each screen represents one play and displays text taken from that particular play.

The algorithm selects for various contextual and grammatical similarities (e.g. hyphenated adjectives, the word “you” plus any noun, nouns that describe the human body) and displays a phrase from each play at random.

Algorithm sorting for “you” + noun. Photo by Ben Rubin.

Rubin’s passion for data and the excitement of analyzing texts at a micro level (he has done several other similar projects) come through clearly in this piece. For me, this piece is a visually exciting way of demonstrating Shakespeare’s constant inventiveness as a writer. Its placement in the Public Theater, which produces New York’s free Shakespeare in the Park, is a perfect pairing of artwork and site.

Lingfan Jiang – Looking Outward – 02

(Installation Named “Visual Sound of the Amazon” done by Andy Thomas)

This installation is done by an Australian artist named Andy Thomas. It is a responsive artwork that visualized an audio collected from the Amazon rainforest.

The most fascinating part of this project is the idea of visualizing sound. Although it is super cool to look at the animation sequence, in the end, this project just had a cool look. However, the idea behind it could be used in so many ways in the future.

For example, this project could relate to helping the deaf people picture all kinds of sound, and let them be able to understand sound in a different way. Also, on the contrast, can picture or animation be transformed back into sound? If sound could be transformed into animation, could smell also do that? There are so many opportunities. Thus, I believe this project is just the beginning of the path!

Mimi Jiao – Looking Outwards 2 – Section E

Still Life (RGB-AV A) from Casey REAS on Vimeo.

Casey Reas is an artist who observes art through a technological and contemporary lense through coding, software, installations, and prints. As one of the creators of Processing, Reas has expressed interest in software and programming for artistic application starting from his undergraduate days. All of his works illustrate his interest in the intersection between technology and art, and his Still Life (RBG-AV A) and Still Life (HSB A)/Still Life (HSB B), created with custom written software, have caught my attention in particular. I am intrigued by the way technology is implemented to portray something that seems so primitive. The visuals of the pieces convey an aesthetic resembling to that of computers made in the early 2000’s or even before, with pixelated and “glitchy” visuals. Reas has taken visuals that occur as a result of technological imperfection and appropriated that into generative artwork and makes viewers begin to appreciate the beauty of the digital realm. His use of colors also further strengthen the sense of primitive technology, and he portrays a realistic rendering of such aesthetic. One thing that I thought he could’ve developed further upon was bringing technology into the experience of his video pieces such as his Still Life (RBG-AV A). As the sensory experiences also contribute to the presentation of his artwork, it would be interesting to see him play around with the technology of generative audio in tandem with his generated visuals. This type of work is something that I am really interested in creating, and I would love to learn more about his process behind it.

Austin Treu – Looking Outwards-02

https://keiwan.itch.io/evolution

I found this evolution simulator by Keiwan on itch.io a while back. I find it fascinating how the algorithms are complicated enough to figure out how they can utilize almost any organization of muscles, bones and joints that they are given to evolve into a ‘creature’ more suitable for the given task. Algorithms such as these, that can take something so abstract and make it functional really highlight the fact that we may even be living in an ever-changing simulation ourselves. There is no way to say that there isn’t something that ‘developed’ our universe and let it run on its own. Many facets of our universe function very similarly to this evolution sim, although the ‘real’ things are much more complex than this. The algorithms involved in the sim are able to pick out the best uses for the creatures’ configurations and infuse those capabilities into the next generation from what I can tell. Over time, the creatures are able to develop more specified functions which continue to improve at the given task as long as the program is running, which sounds relatively similar to how we find ourselves evolving physically, technologically, and otherwise here on Earth.

Moka’s Maps

Moka, an artist based in Los Angeles, uses software to generate art in all different media types: drawing, animation, etc. These drawings are computer generated using meteorologist maps and scientific visualizations of flow.

Unnatural Flux: computer generated drawings based on maps and data visualizations of flow

Moka, having been trained in communication design, rather than computer science or fine arts, has an interesting background that he clearly applies in approaching his work. Specifically, it adds a level of visual clarity that seems to be unique considering the medium of the work.

The aesthetic of these drawings is what initially drew me in because it doesn’t look computer generated, so the character is human like, but the artist was only able to design the back-end. With this kind of work, the design flow, from data to art, creates almost endless possibilities where each piece can become so independent from others and it has the potential to stand alone or with a group of similar pieces.

What I enjoy most about these works is this almost new-frontier of data visualizations. While the information isn’t 100% clear to the eye, if we were to begin to compare these drawings, for example, based on their location, we could begin to uncover more specific information. Being an architecture student, we are often confronted with diagramming site analysis or social demographics and it’s so unique to see software generated data that isn’t a chart or a graph.

For more information on this project click this:  https://www.mokafolio.de/works/UnnaturalFlux