Looking Outwards-02 Sophia Kim

Frederik Vanhoutte’s “Com Sigil – Pattern in Absence” is aesthetically pleasing to the eye. I appreciate the use of space and colors in this project. Using neon colors (pink, blue, and yellow), Vanhoutte makes the viewers notice the black shapes moving throughout the generative illustration. This generative art depends on the sound waves and vibrations from the song “Take a Deep Breath” by Talvekoidik. The system generates black shapes from multiple directions to move through the colored lines whenever there is a change in tone or vibration. The colored lines form many 3D shapes to make the illustration resemble a cube puzzle. I believe this project could have used JavaScript and/or Adobe Illustrator for its algorithm. In Vanhoutte’s recent works (2018), he focuses a lot on combining grids, geometry, and sound into his algorithm. “Pattern in Absence” is a great example of how he utilized those concepts, especially because he used a song that did not have drastic changes in sound.