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 #040

Iskra Velitchkova entered 2023 with a clear goalto slow down. After two frenetic years she needed to take a step back and focus on developing her technique and art practice. ESCAPE is the product of this pace change, its icon, and a map guiding us towards this same freedom.

For Velitchkova the relationship between artist and machine is deeply collaborative, nurturing unexpected elements that emerge from the code. This algorithm began in systems that balance order and chaos. First a distinctive style reminiscent of architectural maps emerged. From this grew the brutalism characteristic of former Soviet cityscapes of the artists early childhood in Bulgaria. Ultimately stifled by this rigidity and repetition, Velitchkova pushed the algorithm furtherbreaking it and in the result discovering the form of an opera house, a structure that had become a symbol of freedom to the artist, the promise of losing oneself in art.

The overwhelming superstructure of architectural lines breaks the picture plane and seems to go beyond three dimensionality. By avoiding easy categorization, the viewer spends time considering the forms and making sense of the composition. It becomes possible to escape everyday concerns for a moment longer, lost in the almost mathematical task of viewing these geometries. The opera house icon emerges as an antidote to these illusive structures. This central figure is suddenly recognizable as a flat or three dimensional shape. Whether in dense black or highlighted as a central white figure, it is a condensation point, a place for our mind to rest. The images combine the icons of this escape but also serve as a visual guide to achieving it.

We are reminded of what art can offer usmental freedom. Yet ultimately this is an illusion. Just as the opera is a staged fiction with its own rules and schedule, this composition is not real; it is a staged performance specifically created to evoke this reaction.

ESCAPE BY ISKRA VELITCHKOVA

Escape #148

Escape #103

Three lines. Three Colours

Three lines. Three Colours #96

Three lines. Three Colours #95

Composition #86: It is what it is

Composition #86: It is what it is #21

Three lines. Three Colours #94

Three lines. Three Colours #93

Three lines. Three Colours #92

Evolving Pixels is an exhibition centered around the theme of growth. The show invites a set of diverse digital artists who work with computational technologiesnamely, generative or AI-assistedto investigate what growth means to them. 

PROOF has partnered with Art Blocks and Venus Over Manhattan to bring Evolving Pixels to life. The long-form generative collections in the exhibition are being delivered with the Art Blocks Engine. From April 12-24, Venus Over Manhattan will display Evolving Pixels at their Soho gallery in New York City.

PROOF Curated: Evolving Pixels

"Memorias del espacio olvidado" es un proyecto de arte generativo que explora relacin entre el crecimiento de la naturaleza en la arquitectura de los edificios antiguos o las grandes estructuras arquitectnicas que han sido abandonadas en la ciudad para representar el crecimiento humano desde diferentes aspectos. 

A travs de Memorias del espacio olvidado el artista busca hacer una comparacin entre este comportamiento de crecimiento de la naturaleza con situaciones que enfrentamos los humanos todos los das y que nos hacen seguir adelante. 

Al igual que las plantas se adaptan al ambiente en el que crecen, los seres humanos tambin tenemos la capacidad de adaptarnos a diferentes situaciones y circunstancias en nuestras vidas, lo que nos permite crecer.
 
La naturaleza crece a su propio ritmo y no compite con la arquitectura, nosotros tambin tenemos nuestro propio ritmo de crecimiento y no debemos compararnos o sentirnos presionados con ciertas expectativas. 

Ambos crecimientos pueden ser vistos como procesos de renovacin y de regeneracin que permiten que la vida contine y se adapte a los cambios constantes del entorno. 

El crecimiento de la naturaleza en los espacios olvidados de las ciudades es una fuente de inspiracin para el crecimiento humano en diferentes aspectos de la vida.

Memorias del espacio olvidado #25

**AN 8-BIT OBITUARY OF FAMILY FIENDS**

There are 7,132 Obits. We are all unique, restless souls of our own generation. Dead Ringers are the most coveted of the clan but ownership of any Obit will grant you access to exclusive launches, airdrops, and other surprising pleasures. Grave pleasures indeed.

Visit the [Obits website](https://obitsnft.com) for more details.

0bits

AN 8-BIT OBITUARY OF FAMILY FIENDS

There are 7,132 Obits. We are all unique, restless souls of our own generation. Dead Ringers are the most coveted of the clan but ownership of any Obit will grant you access to exclusive launches, airdrops, and other surprising pleasures. Grave pleasures indeed.

Visit the [Obits website](https://obitsnft.com) for more details.

Obit #3129

This project was inspired by the iconic profile picture that you see on Facebook or Twitter when you first create a profile - a simple, greyed-out silhouette.
This profile picture, a classic, is both simple and beautiful, as opposed to the complex and busy ones. That is what makes it timeless.

We celebrate the power of simplicity and believe that a basic profile picture can be just as famous and renowned as any other. It's all about the shape and form - the elegant simplicity that makes this profile picture so iconic.

Just a Basic Profile Picture

This project was inspired by the iconic profile picture that you see on Facebook or Twitter when you first create a profile - a simple, greyed-out silhouette.
This profile picture, a classic, is both simple and beautiful, as opposed to the complex and busy ones. That is what makes it timeless.

We celebrate the power of simplicity and believe that a basic profile picture can be just as famous and renowned as any other. It"s all about the shape and form - the elegant simplicity that makes this profile picture so iconic.

Just a Basic Profile Picture #2796

Just a Basic Profile Picture #4061

Hello Modulo by Nat Sarkissian

My intention with this piece was to create something that looked simultaneously human and computerized.

The human element is the hand drawn style. The movement of the strokes, the variance of the density of the simulated particles of color, and inaccuracy of the grid are a few of the things I worked with to make this feel as though a human drew it.

The computerized element is the complexity and intricacy of the patterns. As each grid cell is created, its color is determined by taking the index of the cell, which has various definitions in this code, modulo some other number.

Modulo is not a difficult operator to understand (it simply returns the remainder of a division), but it is not typically taught amongst the four basic operators, addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Because of that, it"s typically not intuitive.

As I developed this work, it felt oddly like building a relationship with modulo. It kept surprising me with complex and unpredictable patterns. I introduced it to more familiar concepts like noise, and trigonometric functions, and continued to see new patterns.

My hope is that you will see a little bit of modulo"s personality in this work, and consider getting to know this awkward fifth wheel of the arithmetic operators.

Nat Sarkissian


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