LO 9: A Focus on Women and Non-binary Practitioners in Computational Art

For this Week’s LO, I will talk about Anne Morgan Spalter, a mixed-media artist that often works with AI, and her installation “Iteration.”

Spalter is known for founding the digital fine art courses at Brown University, as well as those at the Rhode Island School of Design. She originally studied math at Brown but then got her Master of Fine Art at Rhode Island School of Design. Currently, she is working on NFTs.

“Iteration” was created using two image sets, one of Spalter’s own original work and one of random airplane images. She used an algorithm to transform pictures from the first set to that of the second set piece by piece. That is to say that pictures of the first became and more and more like the second each time. She then chose specific “iterations” and painted them with oil.

I admire that it blended both a human and a digital touch to the final product. I also like how it looks overall; each artwork made from the process is interesting. Overall, this piece is now what I think of when I think of algorithmic computer art.

Here is the link to her website, bio, and this specific work.