![[OLD FALL 2019] 15-104 • Introduction to Computing for Creative Practice](wp-content/uploads/2020/08/stop-banner.png)
Rafael Rozendaal is a Dutch artist who utilizes the internet as his canvas, creating websites that allow digital interaction with the viewers. A mixture of abstract patterns and geometric images, his brightly colored graphics are animated to produce a variety of interesting, quirky movements across the screen. Rozendaal’s “looking outwards” derive from simple daily life experiences that most of us would disregard, which are then newly coded into lively, interactive artworks. For example, the audience can unravel toilet paper in virtual space or even poke a gigantic mass of jello.
Roll of toilet paper responds to the viewer’s mouse click (http://www.papertoilet.com)
Conversely, his physical art works take in more conceptual themes of digital media, visually expressing the overwhelming digital information and randomness of code. For instance, he would take archives of popular webpages like Google or Twitter to curate them into unique compositions for tapestries. The Abstract Browsing tapestries express how our browser reads codes for us, where information is translated in a multi-colored structure. But something that personally inspired me was how his works also emphasize accessibility, as he sells his websites as artworks in exchange for letting them remain public for viewers worldwide.
