For this week’s looking outwards assignment, I decided to explore Sougwen Chung’s “Drawing Operations”, a piece of improvised drawing collaboration between Sougwen and a robot. The robot is connected to a neural network, trained on Sougwen’s other drawings using computer vision: gestures from her previous works are saved into the neural net’s memory, and analyzed with comparison to other known styles to ‘translate’ the gestures into executable vectors with color palettes that the robot can then execute. The final product is a drawing duet with Sougwen and the robot.
Sougwen wanted to explore the concepts of “ownership” and “collaboration” through this piece. In the drawing duet, the robot and the artist co-create a piece of art, inspired by the artist’s previous work. I am very attracted to this concept, and a really interested in learning more about Sougwen’s other works and exploration of art and labor as a commodity.
Category: SectionB
“Body Paint”
Uniqueness – something that every living and nonliving object possesses. Every fingerprint, every snowflake, every grain of sand is unique. Our every action or thought somehow, even by little, is very different from the actions or thoughts of another person. An artist and computer scientist from Istanbul, Memo Atkins, created an interactive visual piece known as “Body Paint” that uses motions made by people and transforms them into paint of certain color on an interactive canvas: “Different aspects of the motion – size, speed, acceleration, curvature, distance all have an effect on the outcome – strokes, splashes, drips, spirals – and is left up to the users to play and discover” said Memo Atkins in 2009. I admire this artist due to his vision of the world – his biggest inspiration is studying the nature of nature. He gets inspiration to create from very little and random things such as the nuclear fusion in the heart of the sun or the photosynthesizing organisms that bring everything to life. He created “Body Paint” for people to paint on interactive canvas and not a single painting was the same – every action was different due to its speed or size of a person which makes it so beautiful. Memo Atkins uses artificial intelligence and computational creativity, maybe a language like p5.js, to generate his creative works. Memo’s artistic sensibilities play the biggest role in his algorithm because he creates it for people to have fun, he always makes sure that his new creation is something that others will enjoy.
http://www.digiart21.org/art/body-paint
Memo Atkins, “Body Paint”, 2009
Looking Outwards 02: Generative Art
“Animal Imagination” is an artwork consisting of 50 iterations created by software artist LIA in 2018. The piece was created through an algorithmic system in which each iteration used different parameters for them to flow from one to another, evolving into a series of digital paintings. The artist used various shapes and colors to express elements from nature and animals. For instance, one piece involved a yellow and brown color scheme with overlapping circles of various transparencies, resembling the wildlife of the safari. I admire this project for how each individual iteration is unique and involves different elements, but they still transition very smoothly to each other. This provides a sense of harmony to the entire artwork, and I think that’s quite impressive. Another part of the project that I admire is how it’s very abstract with only lines, shapes, and patterns, yet it successfully captures the image of the sea, forest, and animals. From “Animal Imagination” as well as her other works, one can truly see how LIA emphasizes and works beautifully with abstract forms and fluidity.
LO: My Inspiration
The project “Burger King” by Yixuan Cheng is something I admire because of the coherence and smoothness in the stop motion animation. Even though these are actual physical objects, she made them seem as if they are actually moving through her computational skills. The amount of time and effort put into this to make the illusion of motion through the cute characters she physically made is something I admire. Her meaning through this animation relayed the idea that Burger King is cheap, and she is showing this through the extreme actions of the burger onto the small creature. She created this project by using Adobe Illustrator and Dragonframe Stop Motion. Her works in illustration and animation could have been inspired by Tim Burton who is also a great artist that works with stop motion animation and illustration.
LO: My Inspiration
A few months ago, I went to the Immersive Van Gogh Exhibition which displayed the iconic works of Van Gogh through the combination of digital animation and music. I really enjoyed the exhibition because I thought that the technological element and digitalization of the art was extremely intriguing, especially since most of the time paintings are simply framed and hung on a wall. I believe that the exhibition was organized by Massimiliano Siccardi and his team. I’m not sure about the creation process, but it probably involved some sort of programming and software to create the animated art. I think that this project shows how artworks and museums are getting increasingly interactive and smart with utilizing technology. Furthermore, it demonstrates that creativity shouldn’t be limited to traditional mediums and that there are endless ways to approach or represent art.
LO: My inspiration
There is a project called ‘can’t help myself‘ by Sun Yuan and Peng Yu. It is a large robotic arm that is programmed to clean up the mess of a blood-red liquid that surrounds itself in a given confined space. The thing that is so eye-catching is that this robot is programmed to do this continuous movement forever but its actions also is similar to those of a person’s emotions and actions that people have said it is like looking at a caged animal. The audience pities it but then also has this feeling of familiarity.
The robot was programmed using KUKA’s programming language, which is the company that the physical robot was made from. The Cognex visual recognition system script readings cause the KUKA controller unit to run custom scripts in so that robot performs to swipe the interact with the liquid.
Sun and Peng are the main artists that came up with the general movements for the robot to conduct but Harry and Han are the engineers/programmers with the entire project being overseen by Yu. Sun and Peng are famous for their controversial works, but this specifically focuses on the “pleasure and panic” of anticipating the future.
Project 1: My Self Portrait
// Katherine Stargiotti, kstargio, B
function setup() {
createCanvas(1000, 500);
background(220);
text("kstargio, Self-Portrait Project1", 10, 15);
}
function draw() {
//HEAD:
noStroke();
fill(221,159,131); //skin tone
ellipse(500, 200, 280, 300);
ellipse(500, 270, 215, 305);
quad(633,240, 367,240, 421,375, 579,375);
line(637.5,200,725,300);
ellipse(433, 280, 95, 125);
ellipse(567, 280, 95, 125); //head
fill(231,159,133);
ellipse(434, 285, 85, 70);
ellipse(566, 285, 85, 70); //cheeks
//EYES:
fill(255); //white
ellipse(450, 250, 50, 20);
ellipse(550, 250, 50, 20);
arc(450, 250, 50, 26, PI, 0);
arc(550, 250, 50, 26, PI, 0); //eyeballs
fill(58,27,25); //brown
arc(450, 246, 25, 25, PI+HALF_PI+QUARTER_PI, PI+(QUARTER_PI), OPEN);
arc(550, 246, 25, 25, PI+HALF_PI+QUARTER_PI, PI+QUARTER_PI, OPEN);
fill(0); //black
ellipse(450, 246.5, 15, 15);
ellipse(550, 246.5, 15, 15); //pupils
fill(255);
ellipse(455, 245, 5, 5);
ellipse(555, 245, 5, 5);
ellipse(456, 249, 2, 2);
ellipse(556, 249, 2, 2); //glare
//EYELINER:
noFill();
stroke(0);
strokeWeight(.75);
arc(450, 250, 50, 20, (QUARTER_PI)/8, PI-(QUARTER_PI)/8);
arc(550, 250, 50, 20, (QUARTER_PI)/8, PI-(QUARTER_PI)/8); //bottom line
strokeWeight(1);
arc(450, 250, 50, 26, PI, 0);
arc(550, 250, 50, 26, PI, 0);
strokeWeight(1.75);
arc(450, 250, 50, 26, PI, PI+HALF_PI+(7*(HALF_PI)/8));
arc(550, 250, 50, 26, PI+(QUARTER_PI)/4, 2*PI);
strokeWeight(2.5);
arc(450, 250, 50, 26, PI, PI+HALF_PI+(6*(HALF_PI)/8));
arc(550, 250, 50, 26, PI+(QUARTER_PI)/2, 2*PI);
//EYELASHES:
strokeWeight(1);
arc(423, 245, 15, 12, HALF_PI-(QUARTER_PI/2), PI-(QUARTER_PI)/2); //left top
arc(424, 243, 15, 12, HALF_PI+(QUARTER_PI/8), PI-(QUARTER_PI)/2);
arc(425, 241, 15, 12, HALF_PI-(QUARTER_PI/2), PI-(QUARTER_PI)/2);
arc(426, 239, 15, 12, HALF_PI-(QUARTER_PI/2), PI-(QUARTER_PI)/2);
arc(428, 238, 15, 12, HALF_PI+(QUARTER_PI/8), PI-(QUARTER_PI)/3);
arc(430, 236.5, 15, 12, HALF_PI-(QUARTER_PI/2), PI-(QUARTER_PI)/2);
arc(432, 235, 15, 12, HALF_PI+(QUARTER_PI/8), PI-(QUARTER_PI)/2);
arc(434, 234, 15, 12, HALF_PI+(QUARTER_PI/8), PI-(QUARTER_PI)/3);
arc(436, 233, 15, 12, HALF_PI-(QUARTER_PI/2), PI-(QUARTER_PI)/2);
arc(438, 232, 15, 12, HALF_PI+(QUARTER_PI/8), PI-(QUARTER_PI)/2);
arc(440, 232, 12, 10, HALF_PI+(QUARTER_PI/8), PI-(QUARTER_PI)/3);
arc(442, 231.5, 12, 10, HALF_PI-(QUARTER_PI/2), PI-(QUARTER_PI)/2);
arc(445, 231, 12, 10, HALF_PI+(QUARTER_PI/8), PI-(QUARTER_PI)/2);
strokeWeight(.75);
arc(447, 232, 12, 10, HALF_PI+(QUARTER_PI/8), PI-(QUARTER_PI)/3);
arc(449, 231.5, 12, 10, HALF_PI-(QUARTER_PI/2), PI-(QUARTER_PI)/2);
arc(451, 231, 12, 10, HALF_PI+(QUARTER_PI/8), PI-(QUARTER_PI)/2);
strokeWeight(.5);
arc(453, 232, 12, 10, HALF_PI+(QUARTER_PI/8), PI-(QUARTER_PI)/3);
arc(455, 232, 12, 10, HALF_PI-(QUARTER_PI/2), PI-(QUARTER_PI)/2);
arc(456, 231, 12, 10, HALF_PI+(QUARTER_PI/8), PI-(QUARTER_PI)/2);
strokeWeight(1);
arc(425, 257, 10, 8, PI+(QUARTER_PI)/2, PI+HALF_PI+(QUARTER_PI)/2); //left bottom
arc(426, 258, 9, 8, PI+(QUARTER_PI)/2, PI+HALF_PI+(QUARTER_PI)/2);
strokeWeight(.5);
arc(427, 259, 8, 8, PI+(2*(QUARTER_PI)/3), PI+HALF_PI+(QUARTER_PI)/2);
arc(428, 260, 8, 8, PI+(2*(QUARTER_PI)/3), PI+HALF_PI+(QUARTER_PI)/2);
arc(430, 261, 8, 8, PI+(2*(QUARTER_PI)/3), PI+HALF_PI+(QUARTER_PI)/2);
strokeWeight(1);
arc(578, 245, 15, 12, QUARTER_PI/2, HALF_PI+(QUARTER_PI)/2); //right top
arc(577, 243.5, 15, 12, QUARTER_PI/3, HALF_PI+(QUARTER_PI)/8);
arc(576, 242, 15, 12, QUARTER_PI/2, HALF_PI+(QUARTER_PI)/2);
arc(574, 240.5, 15, 12, QUARTER_PI/3, HALF_PI+(QUARTER_PI)/8);
arc(573, 239, 15, 12, QUARTER_PI/3, HALF_PI+(QUARTER_PI)/8);
arc(572, 237, 15, 12, QUARTER_PI/2, HALF_PI+(QUARTER_PI)/2);
arc(569, 236, 15, 12, QUARTER_PI/4, HALF_PI+(QUARTER_PI)/8);
arc(569, 235.5, 12, 10, QUARTER_PI/3, HALF_PI+(QUARTER_PI)/8);
arc(568, 234, 12, 10, QUARTER_PI/2, HALF_PI+(QUARTER_PI)/2);
arc(565, 233.5, 12, 10, QUARTER_PI/3, HALF_PI+(QUARTER_PI)/8);
arc(564, 233, 12, 10, QUARTER_PI/3, HALF_PI+(QUARTER_PI)/8);
arc(562, 232.5, 12, 10, QUARTER_PI/2, HALF_PI+(QUARTER_PI)/2);
arc(560, 232, 12, 10, QUARTER_PI/3, HALF_PI+(QUARTER_PI)/8);
strokeWeight(.75);
arc(558, 232, 12, 10, QUARTER_PI/3, HALF_PI+(QUARTER_PI)/8);
arc(556, 231.5, 12, 10, QUARTER_PI/2, HALF_PI+(QUARTER_PI)/2);
arc(554, 231, 12, 10, QUARTER_PI/2, HALF_PI+(QUARTER_PI)/8);
strokeWeight(.5);
arc(552, 231.5, 10, 8, QUARTER_PI/3, HALF_PI+(QUARTER_PI)/8);
arc(550, 231.5, 10, 8, QUARTER_PI/2, HALF_PI+(QUARTER_PI)/2);
arc(548, 231.5, 10, 8, QUARTER_PI/2, HALF_PI+(QUARTER_PI)/8);
strokeWeight(1);
arc(575, 257, 10, 8, PI+HALF_PI-(QUARTER_PI)/2, (2*PI)-(QUARTER_PI)/2); //right bottom
arc(574, 258, 9, 8, PI+HALF_PI-(QUARTER_PI)/2, (2*PI)-(QUARTER_PI)/2);
strokeWeight(.5);
arc(573, 259, 8, 8, PI+HALF_PI-(QUARTER_PI)/2, (2*PI)-(QUARTER_PI)/2);
arc(572, 260, 8, 8, PI+HALF_PI-(QUARTER_PI)/2, (2*PI)-(QUARTER_PI)/2);
arc(570, 261, 8, 8, PI+HALF_PI-(QUARTER_PI)/2, (2*PI)-(QUARTER_PI)/2);
//EYEBROWS:
fill(50, 26, 25); //brow brown
quad(423,207, 480,213, 480,223, 423,214);
arc(421.5, 222, 45, 30, PI-(QUARTER_PI)/2, PI+HALF_PI+(QUARTER_PI)/2);
fill(221,159,131); //skin tone
stroke(50, 26, 25);
arc(425, 226, 55, 21, PI, PI+HALF_PI+(QUARTER_PI)/2);
fill(221,159,131); //skin tone
noStroke();
arc(425, 226, 53, 21, HALF_PI+QUARTER_PI, PI+HALF_PI); //left brow
fill(50, 26, 25); //brow brown
quad(579,207, 520,213, 520,223, 579,215);
arc(582, 222, 45, 30, PI+QUARTER_PI, QUARTER_PI);
fill(221,159,131); //skin tone
stroke(50, 26, 25);
arc(578, 226, 55, 21, PI+HALF_PI, 0);
fill(221,159,131); //skin tone
noStroke();
arc(578, 226, 55, 21, PI, QUARTER_PI); //right brow
//NOSE:
noFill();
stroke(50);
arc(439, 285, 95, 175, PI+HALF_PI+QUARTER_PI, 0);
arc(561, 285, 95, 175, PI, PI+QUARTER_PI);
//MASK ELASTIC:
fill(172, 198, 209);
stroke(172, 198, 209);
strokeWeight(2);
line(430,385, 370,275);
line(572,385, 630,275);
//EARS:
noStroke();
fill(221,159,131); //skin tone
ellipse(370,270, 30, 50);
ellipse(375,295, 25, 30);
ellipse(630,270, 30, 50);
ellipse(625,295, 25, 30);
//MASK:
fill(172, 198, 209);
stroke(172, 198, 209);
strokeWeight(2);
line(375,265, 365,245);
line(625,265, 635,245);
strokeWeight(1);
arc(500, 287, 45, 30, PI+(QUARTER_PI)/2, PI+HALF_PI+QUARTER_PI+(QUARTER_PI)/2);
quad(500,280, 375,265, 428,385, 475,425);
quad(500,280, 625,265, 574,385, 525,425);
quad(475,425, 525,425, 525,282, 475,282);
//BUN:
fill(19, 16, 13);
stroke(19, 16, 13);
ellipse(525, 50, 130, 90);
noFill();
strokeWeight(1);
arc(530, 75, 155, 145, HALF_PI+QUARTER_PI, QUARTER_PI);
stroke(37, 29, 26);
arc(527, 78, 154, 142, HALF_PI+QUARTER_PI, QUARTER_PI);
arc(528, 79, 155, 147, HALF_PI+QUARTER_PI, QUARTER_PI);
arc(526, 75, 156, 145, HALF_PI+QUARTER_PI, QUARTER_PI);
stroke(19, 20, 12);
strokeWeight(4);
arc(527, 77, 45, 135, HALF_PI+QUARTER_PI, QUARTER_PI);
arc(528, 77, 160, 147, HALF_PI+QUARTER_PI, QUARTER_PI/2);
arc(526, 75, 155, 145, HALF_PI+QUARTER_PI, QUARTER_PI/2);
arc(527, 77, 150, 135, HALF_PI+QUARTER_PI, QUARTER_PI/2);
arc(528, 77, 145, 147, HALF_PI+QUARTER_PI, QUARTER_PI/2);
arc(526, 75, 140, 145, HALF_PI+QUARTER_PI, QUARTER_PI/2);
arc(527, 78, 135, 135, HALF_PI+QUARTER_PI, QUARTER_PI);
arc(528, 79, 130, 147, HALF_PI+QUARTER_PI, QUARTER_PI);
arc(526, 75, 125, 145, HALF_PI+QUARTER_PI, QUARTER_PI);
stroke(50, 26, 25);
arc(527, 78, 120, 135, HALF_PI+QUARTER_PI, QUARTER_PI);
arc(528, 79, 115, 147, HALF_PI+QUARTER_PI, QUARTER_PI);
stroke(19, 16, 13);
arc(526, 75, 110, 145, HALF_PI+QUARTER_PI, QUARTER_PI);
arc(527, 78, 100, 135, HALF_PI+QUARTER_PI, QUARTER_PI);
arc(528, 79, 95, 147, HALF_PI+QUARTER_PI, QUARTER_PI);
arc(526, 75, 105, 145, HALF_PI+QUARTER_PI, QUARTER_PI);
arc(527, 78, 90, 135, HALF_PI+QUARTER_PI, QUARTER_PI);
arc(528, 79, 85, 147, HALF_PI+QUARTER_PI, QUARTER_PI);
stroke(41, 31, 29);
arc(526, 75, 80, 145, HALF_PI+QUARTER_PI, QUARTER_PI);
arc(527, 78, 75, 135, HALF_PI+QUARTER_PI, QUARTER_PI);
arc(528, 79, 70, 147, HALF_PI+QUARTER_PI, QUARTER_PI);
arc(526, 75, 65, 145, HALF_PI+QUARTER_PI, QUARTER_PI);
stroke(50, 26, 25);
arc(527, 78, 60, 135, HALF_PI+QUARTER_PI, QUARTER_PI);
arc(528, 79, 55, 147, HALF_PI+QUARTER_PI, QUARTER_PI);
stroke(37, 29, 26);
arc(526, 75, 50, 145, HALF_PI+QUARTER_PI, QUARTER_PI);
arc(527, 78, 45, 135, HALF_PI+QUARTER_PI, QUARTER_PI);
arc(528, 79, 40, 147, HALF_PI+QUARTER_PI, QUARTER_PI);
arc(526, 75, 35, 145, HALF_PI+QUARTER_PI, QUARTER_PI);
arc(527, 78, 30, 135, HALF_PI+QUARTER_PI, QUARTER_PI);
stroke(19, 16, 13);
arc(528, 79, 25, 147, HALF_PI+QUARTER_PI, QUARTER_PI);
arc(526, 75, 20, 145, HALF_PI+QUARTER_PI, QUARTER_PI);
arc(527, 78, 15, 135, HALF_PI+QUARTER_PI, QUARTER_PI);
arc(528, 79, 10, 147, HALF_PI+QUARTER_PI, QUARTER_PI);
arc(526, 75, 5, 145, HALF_PI+QUARTER_PI, QUARTER_PI);
arc(527, 78, 3, 135, HALF_PI+QUARTER_PI, QUARTER_PI);
arc(528, 79, 57, 147, HALF_PI+QUARTER_PI, QUARTER_PI);
arc(526, 75, 103, 145, HALF_PI+QUARTER_PI, QUARTER_PI);
//HAIR:
noFill();
stroke(19, 16, 13);
strokeWeight(32);
arc(500, 200, 230, 250, PI+QUARTER_PI, PI+HALF_PI+QUARTER_PI);
strokeWeight(26);
arc(500, 200, 245, 265, PI+(QUARTER_PI)/2+(QUARTER_PI)/4, PI+HALF_PI+QUARTER_PI+(QUARTER_PI)/4);
strokeWeight(20);
arc(500, 200, 255, 275, PI+(QUARTER_PI)/2, PI+HALF_PI+QUARTER_PI+(QUARTER_PI)/2);
strokeWeight(15);
arc(500, 200, 260, 280, PI+(QUARTER_PI)/4, PI+HALF_PI+QUARTER_PI+(QUARTER_PI)/2+(QUARTER_PI)/4);
strokeWeight(11);
arc(500, 200, 265, 285, PI, 0);
strokeWeight(8);
arc(500, 200, 275, 295, HALF_PI+QUARTER_PI+(QUARTER_PI)/2+(QUARTER_PI)/4, (QUARTER_PI)/4);
strokeWeight(5);
arc(500, 200, 275, 300, HALF_PI+QUARTER_PI+(QUARTER_PI)/2, (QUARTER_PI)/2);
fill(19, 16, 13);
arc(500, 175, 260, 245, PI+(QUARTER_PI)/2, PI+HALF_PI+QUARTER_PI+(QUARTER_PI)/2, CHORD);
arc(500, 100, 165, 65, PI+HALF_PI+QUARTER_PI, PI+QUARTER_PI, CHORD);
}
I found this project to be challenging because of the amount of detail I like to use when creating art. With only primitive shapes/tools at my disposal, it was very difficult to use as much detail as I would have liked.
Self-Portrait
Project: Self Portrait
Geometric self portrait.