LookingOutwards-06

Looking Outwards 06

Alden Bates is a very small artist I found online, he has some art on his old blog that he used to keep and it just so happens to have randomly generated computer art. The piece I would like to talk about is called Bloom. Bates created it using a computer to randomly generate a square of random dots, he then applied Paint Shop Pro filters until he thought it was considered art. I admire this art piece because it was made by a small artist and it is what he considers to be art, it is nothing fancy and something I could easily make if I tried. I also admire how this work was created in 2002, about 18 years ago, this means random computer generated art has been used and relevant for a while now and as technology and computed become complicated this art will continue to grow.

http://www.tetrap.com/random/ran021206.html

The controversial website, https://thispersondoesnotexist.com/, generates portraits of seemingly real people with different features with just a page refresh. If told these are real people it is easily believable, however, they are computer-generated images from artificial intelligence. Phillip Wang is the software engineer which created this website. There is a randomness on how these “people” will be generated because there are theoretically, countless possibilities. And depending on the scale, millions of facial features.

The controversy of this project is because of the realistic properties of each generated face. The sheer amount of people on the planet is difficult to keep on record who is who and if someone that is generated is truly a fake person. The concern is if a false human can be easily generated at a refresh of a page, then how can we trust one of our more basic senses, sight. Despite not being a so-called artistic project, I found this to be quite refreshing because of the limits of this project. Saying something looks alike is subjective between any two people but not with our developing technology, the randomness created from this AI can be used to create an identity or mimic an existing one. It is interesting the capabilities of a randomly generated face. It can be unlocking a phone using facial recognition or playing a character with an avatar which is not even real.

LookingOutwards-06

The randomized images with the titles that created them

This project uses random numbers to generate randomized art based on a user-input title string to seed the generation. It produces completely random psychedelic works that are featured in a constantly updated publicly available gallery. Based on the creator’s description, it seems that the process for image generation is based on the seed from the title and then random number generators use that as input to create different but categorically similar works. Some of them share similar overall compositions, materials, or color combinations. The creator’s sensibilities are manifested through how the code displays the randomness, or how the actual visual display reflects the random numbers. In some sense though, the actual art is created by the user’s name input, because this is what seeds the visual generation. The creator just created the method or tool for the translation of that text to a randomized visual output.

random-art.org
Coded by Andrej Bauer, works ‘created’ by the public

LO-06 Randomness

Martin Krzywinski created this piece, Faces of Randomness on Circos in 2013. Krzywinski created this piece based on the digits of 𝜋 and drawing lines between sixteen random numbers with 1000 digits each represented by their digit transition paths and frequencies.

I admire the intricacy of this piece. The placement of the lines and use of colors make each of the 16 circles look like mini galaxies. I also admire how the artist is able to visually portray the impact of changing just one number to create a whole new image. It is also interesting to see how each of the 16 circles look similar despite the random inputs used to create the piece.

Krzywinski’s background as a scientist influences his artistic sensibilities which is seen in the way he uses data to inform his art. Krzywinski uses data and facts to create his artwork and enhances it with bright color choices. He balances the use of randomness by organizing the piece in a neat grid structure.

LO 06 – Randomness

Nervous System: Jessica Rosenkrantz, Jesse Louis-Rosenberg

Growing Objects (2014)

Today, I will be talking about a project called “Growing Objects” (2014), by a design studio, Nervous System (Jessica Rosenkrantz and Jesse Louis-Rosenberg). The project features 3D printed sculptures that encompass the structure and patterns present in nature. To create these mesmerizing objects, the designers used “truly” random numbers, where they adopt the logic of the pattern and formations and translating it into scientific theories and algorithms for a design using computational systems. They used posters to show the algorithmic investigations of nature to explain the math, science, and natural inspiration behind the 3D printed objects. Although the “randomness” is based on true observations from nature, these sculptures do not directly mimic specific phenomena, but rather are open-ended explorations of the mathematics and logic behind them. I admire this project because when looking at the 3D printed objects, you can get a feeling of the natural object that it was inspired by. The subtle personalities are translated to the recreated forms, yet still different in an organized, unorganized way. The creator’s artistic abilities show when they take this a step further, incorporating movement to represent “growth” when in motion to enhance user interaction.

Visit Portfolio here

LookingOutwards-06-Randomness

For this week, the work I will be talking about is ‘Interruptions’ by Vera Molnar. This work was created in 1968-69 on the computer and generates random white space surrounded by many lines tilted at a random angle each time. The reason why I admire this project is because this was created in a time where computers were not fully developed as it is today. Vera Molnar is definitely a pioneer of this creative coded art field. Even though the project is randomized, the placement of the lines and the range of tilt that Molnar set on this project allows the randomness of the project to be beautiful in its own way.