LookingOutwards-06

Looking Outwards 6

After briefly touching on Perlin noise in class, I was curious to explore more and see the applicability of it in a more creative sense and quickly found that it can also be applied as a computationally randomized art design.

To start, Perlin noise was actually originally created to add realistic randomness to visual renderings of elements such as fire, smoke, and water. The inventor, Ken Perlin, created it for use in Tron, and actually won an Academy Award for the discovery and application.

The algorithm itself aims to create smoother transitions between numbers by interpolating and returning random numbers in between them. This “noise” function can also be applied in both 2D and 3D, hence creating applicability with lines and modelled objects.

Some applications of Perlin noise can also go beyond the typical use, such as these 2D line art pieces by Holger Lippman, which simulates various landscape images based off of different Perlin noise-algorithms that are used.

artwork created by Holger Lippman using the Perlin algorithm.

Looking Outwards 06

“Mantel Rojo” by Manolo Gamboa Naon

Manolo Gamboa Naon, also known as “Manoloide,” is a digital artist based in Argentina whose work centers around generative algorithms that experiment with visual output. In his piece “Mantel Rojo,” or “Red Tablecloth,” he uses creative code to produce a swirling, mesmerizing composition filled with vivid colors and dynamic shapes. I am drawn to this piece because like many of his other works, there is no clear focal point; rather, viewers engage with the piece as a whole. Oftentimes, the longer one spends examining the work, the more little details and interesting coincidences seem to appear. In his piece specifically, the shapes and colors are generated pseudo-randomly, as the same hues reoccur and no other shapes are present besides circles and organic swirls.

Looking Outwards 06: Randomness

Self-Dividing Line, J. Tarbell, 2003
http://www.complexification.net/gallery/machines/selfdividingline/

This project constructs unique works by recursively dividing initially defined lines. With each subdivision, the algorithm randomizes where the line will fold in and divide. As the line divides, the system tracks this by adding a level of depth and value with each fold, as though you were observing a piece of paper being folded or a fractal pattern being drawn.

These are some of iterations of the Self-Dividing Line project (2003).

These features of the subdividing line, too, serve to prevent the structure from becoming too complex for the system to process. I think the artist does a great job of employing randomness to produce generative work which reflects both arbitrariness and the inevitability of an end, as the initial lines can only divide so many times before they become too complex. While very simple, the aesthetic of these pieces serves to juxtapose the unlimited possibility for subdivision offered by the algorithm.

LO – 06

Gerhard Richter is an artist that utilizes randomness in his art. Richter’s “4900 Colours: Version II” was exhibited at Serpentine Gallery back in 2008.
This work consisted of 196 panels each with a 5 x 5 square. The randomness comes from a computer program that assigned colors to each square by random from a 25 color palette. The panels could be hung together to create one large display but in the exhibit they were arranged by random in sets of 4.
The intriguing part about the work is the pure randomness. One may not look at it and immediately see random colors because some panels seemed to be dominated by one certain color, but that is the beauty of pure randomness because in random nature patterns may actually occur.

Looking Outwards 6 – Minecraft Map

By Eamonn Burke

https://minecraft.gamepedia.com/File:Map_Zoom_4.png

This is a map from the video game Minecraft developed by Markus Persson. Every time a new “world” is started, the map is randomly generated to include a variety of biomes, oceans, and other features. What I admire about this computational art is that it makes the game infinitely engaging and fun. You never know exactly what kind of map scape you’ll get, which lends to never-ending exploration every time you start a new world.

Minecraft worlds are built on a grid, so I would guess that each map has a random amount of “blocks” designated for each biome (including 0) centered around random x and y coordinates. I would also guess that the terrain height has a random range, but are biased in ways so that mountains and caves are created with Perlin noise. As far as non-landscape features, like villages and temples, these are probably plotted randomly as well, with more common features like villages having higher probability distributions.

Persson’s creative sensibilities came in knowing how to bias the randomness -creating realistic landscapes using appropriate ranges and logical conditions. He also was able to create an incredibly immersive game conducive to exploration and creation, despite choosing “outdated” graphics.

Looking Outwards – 06: Randomness

A work of music that employs randomness and chance is John Cage’s “Music of Changes.” I admire this piece because it introduces a level of objectivity into the creative process. John Cage controlled the randomness in the composition by referencing the Chinese book the I Ching. He previously arranged the chords, notes, etc. of the music, but he took notes from the book to order these elements. He used this method to create four “books” of music which comprise the “Music of Changes.” John Cage’s artistic sensibilities are manifested in the final work because the random conglomeration of the musical phrases he composed amplify and complement the random and erratic feeling the phrases convey.

Performance of John Cage’s “Music of Changes: Book 1”

Looking Outwards 6: Randomness

Jackson Pollock’s works are always described as being “random”, generated from “randomness”, being completely devoid of any generative structure, pattern or system. Some compare his work to a child or a madman flinging paint onto a canvas, with no consideration of composition, light, color, or any of the fundamental elements of what the masses consider “a painting”.

However, that isn’t quite true. Jackson Pollock’s paintings have been heavily analyzed, even down to the atomic level, by art critics and scientists alike. However, both agree that there is a system hidden in his work: The apparent strokes and patterns in the paintings look the same, regardless of how close an observer looks at it. In other words, there is a design containing a repeating structure of patterns. This is not so much randomness as it is chaos.

People often lump the word “chaos” with the word “random”, but they are different concepts. Chaos is present in deterministic systems whose behavior, can in principle, be predicted. Large, complex systems have deterministic laws that are highly sensitive to initial conditions. A common metaphor for this is the Butterfly Effect; A butterfly flapping its wings in China can cause a Hurricane in Texas through a cascade of events. Although the apparent cause of the hurricane in this metaphorical butterfly-hurricane system is “randomness”, there exists hints of underlying patterns, feedback loops, and self organization. The same hints of a mathematical system exist within Pollock’s work – The same system which nature uses to guide the growth of blood vessels, tree branches, and even galaxies.

LO-06: Randomness

I looked into the String Quartet by Witold Lutoslawski, a randomly determined piece made in the 20th century style of aleatoricism, a composition style where elements of the score and performance are left to chance. Many of the rhythms and articulations of the piece are left up to chance, such as repetition until the audience is quiet, or determining tempo through counting seconds. An analysis of the score shows it to be very complex, with new music notations such as wavy lines as beams and instructions on the score. It appears to be chaotic and disjointed but various elements of the score show that it is heavily dependent on communication by the members of the quartet, with synchronized exits and entrances. Repetitions are also determined by the members of the quartet or the audience. Lutoslawski experienced great repression of his work by the Soviet Union, with some of his pieces being banned for “inaccessibility”. However, he only lived in the USSR as he was forced out of Poland by World War II. His music, I believe, reflects these challenges but also acknowledges order and stability in dark times, when each part comes together to create flowing soundscapes and peaceful silence.

LO-06 (randomness)

For this LO, I scoured the internet for randomness projects and I ultimately came upon this random script generator. Although the creation date and author is unknown, it is quite a robust software. After generating multiple scripts using a variation of around 30 inputs to generate the script, it was pretty clear that the results had enough variation to deem it to be sufficiently random. However, just how random is this script exactly? Assuming all 30 inputs each change a small part of the script then there could be theoretically be up to 30^30*the available words in the dictionary versions of scripts generated. This isn’t the case though, as after reading a couple scripts, I noticed that many themes and sentences were in fact being repurposed and reused, thus this program utilizes “pseudo” randomness.

https://www.plot-generator.org.uk/movie-script/

The project I want to talk about is a Perlin Noise project created by Victor Vergara. I admire how the outcome is leveraged on different factors, which gives some level of rationale for the arbitrary.

The code is consist of four functions: createPrimitive(); createGUI(); and animation(). The motion graphic started with a primitive setup, whereas the graphic user interface on the left allows the user to manipulate the input.
The contribution of the creator is more about the rules, logic, and coded relationships rather than the output of that process. Indeed, when playing with randomness, the algorithm is more emphasized than the result.

Link: http://www.dstrict.com/arttechfactory/en/34-SLS-hotel-PROPERTY-DEVELOPMENT.html