Reflection on “Eyeo2012 – Casey Reas”
The idea that chaos and order can interact with one another to create something unique is what interested me the most. Pure randomness causes the disorder, while the strict rules limit the imagination by creating predictable patterns. Because of this, the application of randomness to the basic rules is the golden line, which allows to have the unpredictable details of the predictable general image. However, the way the computational designers achieve this randomness through the pre-written variables, book of ‘random numbers’, etc. raises the question of the extent to which randomness is achieved through coding. As a piece of evidence for that, the variable ‘random’ itself can be taken. In Python, this variable is referred to as “Generate pseudo-random numbers” where the ‘pseudo’ already means that numbers generated are not really random, but follow the pattern and various distributions. Moreover, the author also provides an example, claiming that the random images created actually tend to have patterns such as all moving in one direction (monotonic) or surrounding the pivotal points, etc.
The author slightly changed my perspective on the abstract art style with the use of geometric figures and random paints. In this case, I am referring to Kasimir Malevitch’s “Black Square”, Piet Mondrian’s “Composition II in Red, Blue, and Yellow” and Cy Twombly’s “Leda and the Swan” and other similar works. Before it was tough for me to understand the message of abstract art as it cannot be associated with a particular real-life object or situation in most cases. However, this is what makes these artworks unique as they don’t follow the rules, don’t reflect reality, and don’t carry one specific message, giving more freedom to artistic expression. The author claims that these artworks became popular particularly because of their randomness as the authors moved away from realism by refusing to follow the rules. The political situation mentioned in the video as the influence of the world wars is an interesting aspect for me as these artworks seem to be a kind of political movement in their own way because they convey the idea of independence, abundance of strict rules, and creation of their own reality opposed to the order created by politicians. Because of these aspects, I think that I started noticing the beauty of abstract art.