The video made me realize how nature and code (or technology in a broader sense) can go together to create a work of art. Casey Reas gave several examples of using nature in technology to produce something that is unexpected or unusual.
The example of using sound to create an interactive art was eye opening. Depending on the sound or noise, the elements of the artwork moved in response. The artwork itself was, to my surprise, aesthetically pleasing and entertaining to look at.
Another example that caught my attention was the artwork that illustrated tissue cells. This artwork made me rethink about ways technology and coding can work with nature to produce art. I’ve always thought of coding as irrelevant to nature. However, with the examples and explanations Casey Reas gave, I was able to learn that the two concepts are not necessarily separate. When technology and nature work together, a great product of art can be obtained. Nature can be expressed and illustrated through media and it was interesting to look at works of creators that creatively incorporated nature into their works.
To move on, a concept that was mentioned various times during the video is randomness. While there are order and structure in coding, randomness adds a different taste and texture to the work. However, I was brought up to the question “is randomness always good?” as I finished watching the video. The unexpectedness that comes from randomness may be delightful, but I sometimes feel like it’s better to have structure and order to enhance the users’ understanding and experience.