I have always thought of code as something that requires precision and organization, having structure and rules that require following. When I think about art, It’s quite the opposite. I see art as something that is unstructured and chaotic, messy.
At first thought, I associated digital art with coding. I started thinking of all these rules and constraints that I should follow, but after watching Casey Reas’s talk, I started questioning my assumptions. Can art be structured? Can coding be uncontrolled? Can the chaos of art and the structure of code be intertwined? Is it possible to let go of our control and embrace the outcome? Am I limiting my capabilities by creating imaginary categories to place different art forms in?
I was surprised to learn that sometimes the power of chaos can lead to better outcomes when it comes to digital art. I was surprised to know that there are people who are studying the art of creating generative art pieces using the simplest of codes and iterations to generate small randomized shapes that add up to build the whole picture. But most importantly, I learned the idea of embracing chaos and randomness through structure. By making a series of calculations, you can allow your program to generate a randomized artwork that you cannot control, but can build upon. I was extremely inspired by the “Fractal Invaders” piece, which plays on the fact that randomly placed squares of white and black that seem like nothing when duplicated using symmetry, can be interpreted by our minds as faces and symbols.
This talk certainly left me curious to explore the topic of creating art using the simplest ideas but adding on a layer of randomness, symmetry and letting go of the idea of order and precision. I am amazed by the idea of embracing the territory of controlled randomness/ chaos. The talk piqued my interest in exploring more examples similar to the ones shown in the video and get inspired from them to enhance my future work.