Looking Outwards 02: Generative Art

Project Title: Ten Thousand Cents

Year of Creation: 2008

Artists: Aaron Koblin and Takashi Kawashima

Koblin’s artistic sensibilities manifest in the algorithm or more so through the resources used, such as Mechanical Turk; many of Koblin’s projects depend on collective effort, so it makes sense that the tech used works with/is for community driven stories. I admire how the project represents that despite being separated, people are able to stay connected through technology and work together to build something. This message inspires me because it makes me feel a bit less dissociated from the rest of the world. I admire how when looking at each individual part, it’s hard to understand what’s occurring or what the goal is, but when you view the bigger picture it is very clear. I find this admirable because it reminds me to step back and look for the real reasons behind why I do what I do in my everyday life. I know that the work was generated using a “custom drawing tool.” The interfaces were done with Flash and they also used Processing. As likely intended by the creators, the project suggests the possibilities for telling meaningful stories through interfaces, especially as we collect more personally relevant data.