Author: Leo

Looking Outward-02

Goerge Michael Brower – Staggering Beauty

Regarding this project, I really admire its comedic nature as the rapid moving of the worm causes a spastic response with tiled images of explosions flashing very colorfully. It completely violates all contextual expectations of the silly-looking worm and the majestic-sounding website/project name. The worm seamlessly follows where your mouse goes, and there’s a threshold of moving it around enough that it will start generating an absurd amount of colors and images that flash really fast at the user. I actually decided to do this because I was looking at Leander Herzog’s work first, and it really reminded me of this nostalgic viral phenom that is the Staggering Beauty.
I mean, the code for this algorithm can probably be figured out or reverse-engineered pretty easily in theory. Since it is known as a javascript demo, I can definitely conceive of it in p5.js. The shape of the worm flowing is probably the most difficult part, but generally moving with your mouse is using the mouseX and mouseY variables with whatever makes up the shape of the worm. It also hits the walls, so there are bounds involved. Lastly, I don’t know how specifically the algorithm measures the speed at which the user is moving their mouse, but a certain surpassing of a set threshold with an if statement allows for all the flashing colors and images to appear rapidly according to your mouse speed after breaking that threshold.

The artist’s sensibilities just really come alive in this piece by how animated this little guy is. The worm is so minimalistic, but it plays into its weirdly cute and nonchalant nature as its eyes blink intermittently as well. The fact that you can see the dynamic animation of its eyes getting bigger and an “x-ray” look of its simplistic organs as if the worm is getting shocked in the cartoons is really just great, memorable, and deservingly viral.

http://www.staggeringbeauty.com/

Project-01

Undertale Leo

sketch
function setup() {
    createCanvas(250, 350);
    background(242, 112, 155); //pink
}

function draw() {
    fill(241, 194, 126) //skin in the backdrop
    rect(60, 80, 140, 90)
    fill(0); //hair and eyes
    rect(80, 20, 90, 40); //main black rect
    rect(60, 30, 20, 40);
    square(160, 60, 10);
    rect(170, 30, 20, 50);
    rect(190, 40, 10, 50);
    rect(180, 80, 10, 20);
    rect(200, 50, 10, 140);
    rect(210, 80, 10, 110);
    rect(60, 70, 10, 40);
    rect(50, 50, 10, 140);
    rect(40, 70, 10, 100);
    rect(60, 130, 10, 50);
    rect(70, 140, 10, 50);
    rect(80, 150, 10, 30);
    rect(90, 150, 10, 20);
    rect(100, 150, 10, 20);
    rect(100, 170, 50, 10);
    rect(140, 150, 10, 20);
    rect(150, 140, 10, 30);
    rect(160, 130, 10, 50);
    rect(170, 130, 10, 50);
    rect(180, 120, 10, 70);
    rect(190, 110, 10, 70);
    rect(80, 80, 20, 10);
    rect(140, 80, 20, 10);
    rect(80, 100, 20, 10);
    rect(140, 100, 20, 10);
    rect(110, 120, 20, 10);
    rect(70, 240, 110, 10); //belt
    noLoop();
    fill(1, 162, 232); //bandana
    square(90, 60, 10);
    square(140, 60, 10);
    square(70, 70, 10);
    square(120, 70, 10);
    square(160, 70, 10);
    noLoop();
    fill(247, 92, 100);
    square(110, 130, 10); //tongue
    noLoop();
    strokeWeight(0)
    fill(237, 29, 37); //red shirt
    rect(100, 180, 50, 10);
    rect(90, 190, 60, 10);
    rect(100, 200, 50, 10);
    rect(90, 210, 50, 10);
    rect(70, 220, 30, 10);
    rect(80, 200, 10, 10);
    rect(70, 230, 30, 10);
    rect(110, 230, 70, 10);
    rect(120, 220, 30, 10);
    rect(150, 210, 20, 10);
    rect(160, 220, 20, 10);
    square(60, 200, 10);
    square(50, 220, 10);
    square(180, 200, 10);
    square(190, 220, 10);
    noLoop();
    fill(52, 32, 13);  //brown outline
    square(90, 180, 10);
    rect(150, 180, 20, 10);
    rect(60, 190, 30, 10);
    rect(160, 190, 30, 10);
    square(50, 200, 10);
    square(70, 200, 10);
    square(170, 200, 10);
    square(190, 200, 10);
    rect(40, 210, 10, 50);
    rect(60, 210, 10, 70);
    square(170, 210, 10);
    rect(180, 210, 10, 70);
    rect(200, 210, 10, 50);
    square(50, 230, 10);
    square(190, 230, 10);
    square(50, 250, 10);
    square(190, 250, 10);
    rect(60, 280, 60, 10);
    rect(130, 280, 60, 10);
    rect(110, 260, 10, 50);
    square(120, 260, 10);
    rect(130, 260, 10, 50);
    rect(80, 290, 30, 10);
    rect(70, 300, 40, 10);
    rect(140, 290, 30, 10);
    rect(140, 300, 40, 10);
    noLoop();           
    fill(255, 242, 1);  //yellow highlights
    square(80, 210, 10);
    square(90, 200, 10);
    square(100, 230, 10);
    square(110, 220, 10);
    square(140, 210, 10);
    square(150, 220, 10);
    square(150, 190, 10);
    square(190, 210, 10);
    noLoop();
    fill(255, 201, 15);  //yellow-orange
    square(50, 210, 10);
    square(150, 200, 10);
    noLoop()
    fill(255, 127, 40);  //orange 
    square(70, 210, 10);
    square(100, 220, 10);
    square(160, 200, 10);
    noLoop();
    fill(241, 194, 126);  //hands&knees
    square(50, 240, 10);
    square(190, 240, 10);
    rect(70, 260, 20, 10);
    rect(150, 260, 20, 10);
    noLoop();
    fill(255);      //jean tears
    square(70, 270, 10);
    square(140, 270, 10);
    square(170, 270, 10);
    noLoop();
    fill(111, 126, 149);  //jeans
    rect(70, 250, 110, 10);
    rect(90, 260, 20, 10);
    square(140, 260, 10);
    square(170, 260, 10);
    rect(80, 270, 30, 10);
    rect(150, 270, 20, 10);
    }

Looking Outwards 1: Santiago X

Santiago X Flux Room


I admire this project because it utilizes technology’s advantage of auto-generation in order to create a more immersive and varied experience. The variation and illusion of natural spontaneity within a certain context can be very well emulated in this Flux Room because its injecting elements into the room that directly affect an experiencer’s senses.
Santiago X, a technology and installation artist, created it. I can’t find how long it took, but I assume 1-3 years since it probably needed a deadline for its showing in WNDR Museum, Chicago in 2021.
He most definitely wrote custom scripts, at least, because its a customized AI and machine learning system that algorithmically generates sounds, visuals, and scents in this Flux Room.
Definitely seems like one of those recent trendy immersive projection experiences like Artechouse or Van Gogh Exhibit, but it builds on those by adding more ways of sensuous interaction.
As a futurist, Santiago precisely wants to imagine and present hyper-real futures that rupture what we can presently conceive in reality. Thus, like Artechouse, there’s infinite possiblity for the types of unimaginable auto-generated visuals, but also sounds and scents that are utterly unrecognizable but in the liminal space between existing and not-existing.
Provide a link (if possible) to the work, and a full author and title reference. https://santiagox.com/flux-room
https://santiagox.com/aboutx