LookingOutwards-03 – Page 6 – [OLD SEMESTER] 15-104 • Introduction to Computing for Creative Practice

Looking Outwards-03

Graham Murtha, Section A

The project I looked into, Aguahoja III, is an exploration of biophilic parametric design conducted by the MIT media lab. As an architecture student, parametric design is constantly brought up and analyzed in depth, but biophilic projects are harder to find, and much harder to understand. Consequently, this project is fascinating to me, because despite its label as sculpture, it reminds me of the few cases of biophilic structures I’ve seen in the past. The algorithms that created this object mimic natural processes by using organic materials like cellulose, chitin, and pectin. By enacting this strategy, the team’s 3D printers are essentially creating organic material as it would grow in nature, but in unique and complex man-made forms. Despite its computer based, parametric shape, the design still manifests visual signs of natural processes, such as layers of veins within its skin, and a decomposable exoskeleton. In other words, the team that produced this project hosted a mix of both controlled and unpredictable variables, which is a fascinating balance to create as an artist.

Looking Outwards 03

Mike Kneupfel, Keyboard Frequency Sculpture https://www.businessinsider.com/mike-knuepfel-keyboard-frequency-2011-6

I find Mike Kneupfel’s Keyboard Frequency Sculpture (as discussed in Prof. Levin’s lecture) to be very interesting. As a whole, I typically find myself drawn to works that are funny in some sort, and I think the visualization of data in this way, almost like a bar graph (but not really), to be pretty funny. Imagining the use of this object in real life is also pretty amusing. On one hand, it would be very easy to find the keys most frequently used, but ergonomically, the piece is a nightmare. The way that an intention of practicality manifests in complete usability is a humorous paradox. In terms of the actual construction, I’d assume that to create this piece, whatever percentage of the time a key is used would correspond to a certain height. For example, maybe 1% use = 1 cm, so keys used 3% of the time would be 3 cm tall.

Photograph of Kneupfel’s Keyboard Frequency Sculpture.

LookingOutwards-03 Section D

Creator’s name: Sanchtv
Title of work: Foldable Fractal 2.0
Year of creation: 2009

This project by Sanchtv is titled Foldable Fractal 2.0. It is made up of laser-cut pentagons that appear to be folded together to create a “pentagonal dodecahedron”. I admire the repetition of the pattern that moves inwards and continues to decrease in size. This piece reminds me of the drawings of an individual painting a picture of themself, painting a picture of themself and so on, making it appear as though it repeats for infinity. These types of visuals are capable of grabbing the attention of the viewer in a quick and unique manner. The description mentions that this was created through a recursive algorithm. After some research, I learned that it is an algorithm that calls itself using a smaller input to return the result for the current input. From that base definition, I suppose such an algorithm is the cause for the repetition in the design. While I do not know much about the creator, it is apparent that this object was created in a very intentional and methodical manner that utilized an algorithm to create three-dimensional art.

This is a computational digital fabrication developed with a recursive algorithm by creator Sanchtv.

Foldable Fractal 2.0 | foldable fractal is a project origina… | Flickr

Looking Outwards 03

https://www.archdaily.com/879626/minima-maxima-marc-fornes-theverymany

Marc Fornes’ parametric pavilion, entitled “MINIMA|MAXIMA” is a 2017 project created by the research collective THEVERYMANY for the 2017 World Expo in Astana, Kazakhstan. This 43’ tall pavilion is designed using parametric architecture techniques including Rhinoscripting. Not only does Grasshopper (the generative modeling tool in the software Rhino) allow one to easily manipulate dimensions and shapes as well as the size of the individual panels, it can be used in conjunction with Python to create more complex geometries. Although the sculptural piece consists of only curves, the individual pieces of ultra-thin material are all created as flat surfaces, and only when interconnected do they take on their curved form. Although the construction of the pavilion is similar to the construction process of carbon fiber assembly, the structure is made of 6mm thick sheets of aluminum, stacked together to make a sandwich of white, pink, and white. Fornes and his collaborators continue to develop their research regarding the material and assembly tchniques used in their pavilions and treat each structure as a research opportunity. The cutting-edge assembly techniques used by THEVERYMANY, as well as the uniquely thin yet self-supporting construction material, are two incredibly admirable aspects of the pavilion.

Looking Outwards 03

Media Lab’s “Aguahoja”, 2017

Aguahoja

The Mediated Matter Group’s “Aguahoja” is not only inspirational to me but also very compelling. I admire that this work is a collection of digitally fabricated biomaterials that require literally no work. The project integrates material formation, digital fabrication, and physical behavior of the biological world to create biodegradable composites that combine natural life with manmade goods.

The work involves water-based design and technology to integrate the natural materials with manmade goods. The pieces are printed by a robot, which I suppose must receive instructions on how and what to print by the designers. Along with the robot’s work, the pieces are shaped by water which I also suppose must have been programmed by the designers on how to function.

The creators’ artistic sensibilites are manifested in geometric patterns and shapes within the project. While the pieces are created by robots, the creators preserve the look of manmade materials, but also mimick the natural feel of the natural life.

Robotically printed and water-based design of natural materials conjoined with manmade goods

Looking Outwards 03: Computational Fabrication

The project that’s inspirational to me is a project done by a CMU Architecture student Madeline Gannon. Her project Reverb is a context-aware 3D modeling environment that allows you to create ready-to-print wearables that are based on your own body. Reverb employs computer vision, digital design, and digital fabrication techniques to translate your real-world hand gestures into intricate geometry that can be printed and worn on the body immediately. It employs a chronomorphologic modeling technique to generate complex forms quickly around a 3D scan. I picked this project because I’m interested in fashion and accessories and it’s interesting to see computational algorithms being applied to these fields in ways that we never expected. The modeling interface uses a three-phase workflow — 3D scanning, 3D modeling, and 3D printing — to enable a designer to craft intricate digital geometries around pre-existing physical contexts. Chronomorphology is a composite recording of an object’s movement. It helps record a full three-dimensional model of the object. The creator’s artistic sensibilities manifest in the final form by aggregating the animated 3D model to create complex geometries around the 3D scanned context.

Project Name: Reverb
Creator: Madeline Gannon
Year of Creation: 2016

Collar Studies & Wrist Studies
Source of Image: http://www.madlab.cc/reverberating-across-the-divide/

LO-03: Computational Fabrication

Quayola’s Unfinished Sculptures (“non-finito”) are a series of “unfinished” physical sculptures that seamlessly merges the digital and modern with classical sculptural styles of the Renaissance. Created by a generative system that carved out blocks of marble with a mechanical arm, these sculptures explore the tension and equilibrium between form and matter, man-made objects of perfection, as well as chaotic yet complex forms of nature. In programming this system, Quayola also took inspiration from Michelangelo’s unfinished series “Prigioni” (1513-1534). As an artist, I find the technique of which Quayola chose to employ in the making of this series to be especially admirable. Algorithmically, the system is composed of mathematical functions that processed geological formations which evolve infinitely, morphing eventually into the classical figures on display. Quayola’s code, then, essentially turns from an extension of his hand to an extension of the hardware which, in the end, results in an extension of the sum of ideas generated from both Quayola and Michelangelo’s brain – timeless, human and artificial.