LookingOutwards-02 – Page 5 – [OLD SEMESTER] 15-104 • Introduction to Computing for Creative Practice

LO 02: Generative Art

This week, I took a look at Karl Sims and his piece, Seven Experiments in Procedural Animation 2018. I found this piece very inspiring because of its beautiful renderings. The movements of the different experiments feeling natural, smooth, and organic. But they also have an artificial touch to them as they are computer-generated renderings in the first place. I admired the clean yet sophisticated forms he produced using mathematical equations. It’s strange to me to think that beauty can be derived from an equation: quantifying beauty in a sense. It is stated that he is using fractal equations, procedural noise, and reaction-diffusion techniques to create his visuals in this piece. Sims’ goal was to create an algorithm/visual piece that mimicked living organisms and microscopic structures that would evoke a biological aesthetic. Clearly, he was able to achieve what he set out to do, illustrated by the very fine movements and organic forms he incorporated into his work.

Karl Sims Seven Experiments in Procedural Animation

Dorfelt works on Grief

I found Matthais Dorfelt’s work interesting because of how real it looked compared to a human hand. Specifically in his computer-generated drawings of grief, which reminds me of art from the show Adventure Time. All the works kept the same style and crying aspect with an open mouth, but all were still different. I found it spooky that it looked human-made and not coded. I would assume that whatever algorithm was used had a lot of if-then statements because I would think they ran the same code multiple times to get all the images. Perhaps they had if the body is pink then the mouth has these measurements and colors, etc. I feel that the artists are present in the algorithm because all of his work is displayed with a certain art style that is very contemporary, none of it seems to stray too far from that path. I like the way he specifies spontaneity as a part of his process.

https://www.mokafolio.de/works/Grief

Looking Outwards 02: Generative Art

Person standing in front of GITEX project of Dubai

GITEX is a project created by Marek Bereza and Felix Faire (of Marshmallow Laser Feast, an experiential collective based in London) that visualizes sets of urban data from Dubai in an interactive and immersive experience for the user. The 3D visualization and interaction software was written from scratch in C++.

Data is often hard to comprehend, especially for those unfamiliar with how to read data, yet it’s relevant to all our lives and the decisions we make. By turning sets of urban data into a visual, interactive experience, this project allows a resident of Dubai (or anyone else) to explore the city in perspectives that otherwise wouldn’t be accessible. I particularly admire this project because it both enables the average person to make more informed decisions about their own city, while also being a beautiful work of art in itself.

I don’t know much about the algorithm that generated the work, since it was built in scratch in C++. I do know that it must have incorporated a large variety of sets of data (traffic collisions, topographical data, geographic data, types of locations, etc).

Because the creators wrote the program from scratch, they would’ve implemented their own way of visualizing the city. It’d be fascinating if different people were to create their own version of this program: each person could convey which aspects of the city they find most important. For someone environmentally focused, they could emphasize green space and natural life in their visualization. For someone culturally focused, they could highlight the different cultures, ethnicities, and neighborhoods within a city.

While this is an amazing piece of work on its own, it’d be ideal if the concept could be transformed into a program where non-coders could upload their own sets of data and create personal maps of cities. This would enable people to communicate much more effectively in regards to any urban issues to want to advocate for.