For my final project, I would like to revisit generative art – especially since I really enjoyed the immersive nature and the aesthetic satisfaction that comes with making such works. And to stay true to the original thread that ran through a lot of my work this semester, I am deciding to once again incorporate butterflies. Since my midterm project was essentially a game, I want to pivot toward making an artistic piece. Thanks to Professor Aaron, who helped me sift through a bunch of ideas and finalize an initial concept, I am currently set on building a miniature installation with butterflies whose movements or shapes are activated/manipulated through touch. Essentially, I would make (perhaps fabricate, if time allows) butterflies and disperse them on a physical canvas. Each butterfly on the physical canvas would be connected via conductive material to a touch capacitive sensor. Using p5.js, I would create and control the butterflies’ shapes, colors, and animations. The p5.js sketch would then be projected and mapped onto the physical canvas. Sensory touch signals relayed by the Arduino would trigger a change in the animation/shape/color of the touched butterfly on the p5.js sketch and, by extension, the physical canvas.
Here’s a very rough visualization of what I have in mind:
