Bright Moments

1 + 1 = 3 #88

Our world is made up of near infinite examples of events that paradoxically represent both order and chaos. Chaos theorys most famous tenant, the Butterfly Effect, explains how imperceptible changes in initial conditions can lead to massive and unpredictable differences in outcomes: how a butterfly flapping its wings weeks earlier may lead to a hurricane taking a different course.

Wander positions Rhythm & the Machine at the paradox point, building a system that visually suggests both order and chaos, striking a different balance in each composition. Saturated color fields reminiscent of paint moving through water are seemingly randomly distorted and dragged across the canvas. All the while repeating colors and evenly spaced gestures point to an underlying ordered system.

Intuitively you would not expect repeating the same thing over and over would lead to disorder, yet this is exactly what you find with many systems, such as pseudo-random number generators that are foundational to algorithmic generative art.

Through a reduced system that elevates a few random elementsthe placement & size of colored geometric shapes, the direction & intensity of the gestureRhythm & the Machine introduces distortionary forces that Wander does not dictate nor completely control. Suddenly each cluster of colors takes on a life of its own, creating new forms we cannot predict.

Each work in the collection contains a second instruction layer, which maps how the original colored shapes are placed and then distorted. This instruction layer reminds us that chaos is in fact rooted in ordered systems. We can see the before and the after of the directional forces, how regular shapes became an abstracted color field. At the same time, the interactions are so complex and layered that trying to anticipate the future is a futile effort. We can try to understand but we cannot predict: a visual articulation of the butterfly effect. This insight is given added weight since the instruction layer is artificial and not a priori to the original digital work, where all of these functions happen simultaneously. The artist constructed it to provide the viewer this unique insight.

We see the moment of divergence, repeated not just in a single canvas but also across the collection. The wide range of possibilities alludes to infinitya concept impossible to fully comprehend but in this reduced visual language Wander shows us a piece of it and our minds are able to begin to explore the spread if not the edges.

Rhythm & the Machine by Lars Wander

Rhythm & the Machine #133

Rhythm & the Machine #095

Rhythm & the Machine #019

In Interference, Phaust foregrounds two scientific discoveries in a search for purity of generative systemsan 18th century German physicist and a 20th century Japanese electronics corporation.

Investigating acoustics, Ernst Chladni took a violin bow and drew it against a metal plate lightly covered with sand. When the plate reached resonance the sand would settle on particular nodal linesleaving what is known as Chladni patterns. These proved to be important in fields as diverse as acoustics and instrument design to wave theory and quantum mechanics.

Chladni patterns vary according to a range of factors and can be described with some pleasingly simple equations. Those equations lie at the heart of this collection and perhaps show generative art at its purest: a set of simple equations which give rise to near infinite variation.

Phaust drew upon a 1980 invention by the Riso Kagaku Corporation to bring these forms to lifea machine that looks like a photocopier but works like a screen printer. The Risograph uses stencils and vibrant semi-transparent spot color inks to print a single layer of color at a time, producing prints that are vivid, textured and unique thanks to subtle imperfections in the printing process.

Interference embraces the quirks of Risograph printing, adopting the semi-transparent colors of Riso inks and exaggerating the mis-alignment found on Risograph prints. Instead of plotting solid bands of color, the collection mimics the texture of Risograph prints through over half a million distinct tiles, each subtly varied in shape and color. This treatment suggests mosaics when viewed up close and harkens back 200 years to sand particles settling along nodal lines on Chladni's plates.

Unlike earlier collections such as Pointilla, where the artists had to define much of the forms through code, this is fundamentally a handful of mathematical functions and transformations that create a dramatic variation of composition. Phaust chooses to break the faithful presentation of a physical phenomenon by deviating from standard Chladni patterns  introducing polar coordinates that create a pinching effect to otherwise more rounded forms and an additional distortion that occasionally disturbs these flows. These interventions remind the viewer that this is an unreal depiction, algorithmically generated.

This mathematical and conceptual simplicity speaks directly to the beauty of generative systems. By foregrounding a familiar physical phenomenon, the vibration of sound, Phaust elevates the unique beauty of generative art.

Interference by Phaust

Interference #157

Interference #137

Interference #121

Interference #098

In Interference, Phaust foregrounds two scientific discoveries in a search for purity of generative systemsan 18th century German physicist and a 20th century Japanese electronics corporation.

Investigating acoustics, Ernst Chladni took a violin bow and drew it against a metal plate lightly covered with sand. When the plate reached resonance the sand would settle on particular nodal linesleaving what is known as Chladni patterns. These proved to be important in fields as diverse as acoustics and instrument design to wave theory and quantum mechanics.

Chladni patterns vary according to a range of factors and can be described with some pleasingly simple equations. Those equations lie at the heart of this collection and perhaps show generative art at its purest: a set of simple equations which give rise to near infinite variation.

Phaust drew upon a 1980 invention by the Riso Kagaku Corporation to bring these forms to lifea machine that looks like a photocopier but works like a screen printer. The Risograph uses stencils and vibrant semi-transparent spot color inks to print a single layer of color at a time, producing prints that are vivid, textured and unique thanks to subtle imperfections in the printing process.

Interference embraces the quirks of Risograph printing, adopting the semi-transparent colors of Riso inks and exaggerating the mis-alignment found on Risograph prints. Instead of plotting solid bands of color, the collection mimics the texture of Risograph prints through over half a million distinct tiles, each subtly varied in shape and color. This treatment suggests mosaics when viewed up close and harkens back 200 years to sand particles settling along nodal lines on Chladni"s plates.

Unlike earlier collections such as Pointilla, where the artists had to define much of the forms through code, this is fundamentally a handful of mathematical functions and transformations that create a dramatic variation of composition. Phaust chooses to break the faithful presentation of a physical phenomenon by deviating from standard Chladni patterns  introducing polar coordinates that create a pinching effect to otherwise more rounded forms and an additional distortion that occasionally disturbs these flows. These interventions remind the viewer that this is an unreal depiction, algorithmically generated.

This mathematical and conceptual simplicity speaks directly to the beauty of generative systems. By foregrounding a familiar physical phenomenon, the vibration of sound, Phaust elevates the unique beauty of generative art.

Interference #055

Interference #025