Casey Reas is the inventor of Processing (software which I often used in my Freshman year of university) and is well known for many projects in digital illustrations. In Eyeo2012 he talked about chance operations which I found very intriguing and interesting for several reasons. First of all, his talk about random systems with seemingly random parameters which after some time tend to order and become homogenous (Process 18) is very much similar to what I did for assignment 2, where I used random functions while ending up with clear shapes depending on different parameters after many iterations.
His work based on “Tissue Work” highlights how small changes in parameters largely influence the paths his figures follow. I also found this true when modifying variables of my project which completely changed the shape. More surprisingly, the way the change worked started making sense in a nonmathematical context as well. Without thinking about the equations I could visually deduce how one parameter (percent) influences the resolution of the shape and the other (n) influences how it spreads.
I found it inspiring how many fields can random chance operations be used in physics, music, and obviously art. One might think how all these fields are related by underlying mathematical equations and might even explain how our entire universe works.
Seeing the random number book got me thinking about how if anything is truly random. As a student who studies computer science, we have often been told how you can’t program true randomness. I started wondering if we even need true randomness as controlled randomness helps us in many ways already. Be it encryption, algorithms, and in this case creating art.
The demo regarding triggering our imagination was truly fascinating, as it got me thinking about how our brains try to declutter chaos and try to do their best to make sense of what we see based on our preconceived notions.
I think that Casey Reas’s presentation and his personal experience show us how we might find meaning and beauty in the most unexpected (random) places which in turn should inspire us to look for order in chaos in both our fields and our personal lives.
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