Casey Reas’ talk on randomness in generative artworks provided an intriguing insight into the concept of randomness not as a frightful enemy but rather as a tool to employ and utilize. As humans, we instrinsically cower away from randomness. It disrupts routines and takes away from order. It is chaotic. However, Reas advocated for randomness as an array of endless possibilities in his talk. In his eyes, it should be seen as a foundation to build upon, rather than an afterthought. He gives examples of his earlier works, where he strayed away from the chaotic nature of randomness, sticking to defined shapes and positions. However, his philosophy shifted overtime to incorporate it, albeit with rules and restrictions to give it direction. This thought process piqued my curiousity, as at what point do those constraints simply become too much, and prevent random chance from truly acting?
Personally, I found this talk thoughtprovoking, and it encouraged me to also incorporate randomness within my assignment. Reas emphasizes that randomness simulates the unpredictable nature of real life, rather than everything being carefully placed and artificial. As such, seeing as my inspiration was natural beauty, I decided to incorporate random positions within my project, as an ode to what Reas described. I did end up setting boundaries for the randomness to stray within my project, as I felt some control was necessary for aesthetic purposes, though I am interested as to what it may have looked like had I not set these restrictions.