Kimberlyn Cho – Looking Outwards 06

The “Random Number Multiple” series by Marius Watz and Jer Thorp attempt to encourage artists to use old school fine art strategies to hand print their computational (any computer or software-based) art. As part of the “Random Numbers” exhibit in NYC, the series takes part in a platform curated by Christina Vassallo for artists to experiment with new techniques or mediums.

Marius Watz’s “Arc” series uses a somewhat random composition of radial shapes that are distorted by a 3d surface to imitate a sense of movement while maintaining a focal point. Jer Thorp took a more systematic approach than Watz by using the newspaper as his reference. He tracked the frequency of specific words in the New York Times in a twenty-year time period, which he then graphed using a randomized group of colors based on the theme of the artwork.

I found the combinative nature of the design process of these artworks to be most interesting. Most artists seem to go about one specific way of producing their art, whether it be by hand or with a certain software. I found it innovative how Watz and Thorp use a software to produce the computational image they want and then incorporate a factor of randomness with either the colors or array of the shapes to portray the work with traditional techniques. The timeless incorporation of a variety of strategies leaves room for results that might’ve not been expected or accidental new elements to the creation that creates work that the artist can then learn from.