Category: F2024 – Aya

Concept:

For this project I got my inspiration from Bridget Riley who is an artist specialized in optical illusion. She is known to use geometric shapes and patterns to create these optical illusions. Below are some of Bridget Riley’s artworks.

Getting the inspiration from Bridget Riley I decided to create my project from geometric shapes (triangles) and creating multiple loops to achieve this optical illusion that I came up with. I also added some interactivity that the user can use in my project where if the user pressed the mouse the project will change from black and white to orange and blue, and the transition between the two color schemes is supposed to create a surprising visual effect that aligns with the idea of shifting perception.

Highlighted Code:

if (mouseIsPressed){
   
   fill('#FF783D');
   rect(0,0,120,100);
   
   // loop for blue triangles 1
 for (let x1=0;x1 <= 100; x1 += 40) {
   for (let y1 = 0; y1 <= 90; y1 += 20) {
     let x2 = x1;
     let y2 = y1 + 20;
     let x3 = x1 + 20;
     let y3 = y1 + 10;
     
     fill('#3DC4FF');
     triangle(x1, y1, x2, y2, x3, y3); 
   }
 }
  // loop for opposite blue triangles 1
   
 for (let x1=20; x1<=100; x1 += 40){
   for (let y1=10; y1<=100; y1+=20){
     let x2=x1+20;
     let y2= y1+10;
     let x3=x1+20;
     let y3= y1-10;
     
     triangle(x1,y1,x2,y2,x3,y3);
   }
 } 
    rect(0,100,120,100);
 
  // loop for orange triangles 1
 for (let x1=0;x1 <= 100; x1 += 40) {
   for (let y1 = 100; y1 <= 190; y1 += 20) {
     let x2 = x1;
     let y2 = y1 + 20;
     let x3 = x1 + 20;
     let y3 = y1 + 10;
     
     fill('#FF783D');
     triangle(x1, y1, x2, y2, x3, y3); 
   }
 }
  // loop for opposite orange triangles 1
 for (let x1=20; x1<=100; x1 += 40){
   for (let y1=110; y1<=190; y1+=20){
     let x2=x1+20;
     let y2= y1+10;
     let x3=x1+20;
     let y3= y1-10;
     
     triangle(x1,y1,x2,y2,x3,y3);
   }
 }
 
   rect(0,200,120,100)
   // loop for blue triangles 2
 for (let x1=0;x1 <= 100; x1 += 40) {
   for (let y1 = 200; y1 <= 290; y1 += 20) {
     let x2 = x1;
     let y2 = y1 + 20;
     let x3 = x1 + 20;
     let y3 = y1 + 10;
     
     fill('#3DC4FF');
     triangle(x1, y1, x2, y2, x3, y3); 
   }
 }
  // loop for opposite blue triangles 2
 for (let x1=20; x1<=100; x1 += 40){
   for (let y1=210; y1<=300; y1+=20){
     let x2=x1+20;
     let y2= y1+10;
     let x3=x1+20;
     let y3= y1-10;
     
     triangle(x1,y1,x2,y2,x3,y3);
   }
 }
 
   rect(0,300,120,100);
 
  // loop for orange triangles 2
 for (let x1=0;x1 <= 100; x1 += 40) {
   for (let y1 = 300; y1 <= 400; y1 += 20) {
     let x2 = x1;
     let y2 = y1 + 20;
     let x3 = x1 + 20;
     let y3 = y1 + 10;
     
     fill('#FF783D');
     triangle(x1, y1, x2, y2, x3, y3); 
   }
 }
  // loop for opposite orange triangles 2
 for (let x1=20; x1<=100; x1 += 40){
   for (let y1=310; y1<=390; y1+=20){
     let x2=x1+20;
     let y2= y1+10;
     let x3=x1+20;
     let y3= y1-10;
     
     triangle(x1,y1,x2,y2,x3,y3);
   }
 }

The part of the code I’m most proud of is the one that changes the artwork’s colors when the mouse is pressed. Although it’s just a portion of the entire code, I’m particularly proud of it because the colors didn’t overlap, and the pattern turned out exactly as I had envisioned. I’m also proud of the overall coding process, as it was challenging to get the dimensions right, and I had to repeat it several times before figuring it out.

Sketch:

Future Improvements:

For the future I wish to incorporate some movement in the shapes and for example if I hover the mouse on the artwork it changes according to the placement of the mouse on it.

Concept:

I got my inspiration from this tree while watching my sisters play.

I wanted to create a tree that showcased the four seasons. And when you would move the mouse around the tree you would get to see the different seasons in each corner. Then when pressed, it would be dark (night). And just for visuals sake have the leaves fall automatically.

 

Sketch:

I couldn’t figure out how to include all 4 seasons without rewriting most of what I already did, so I moved on. I ended up adding apples, and when you move the mouse around the leaves they appear on the tree as well. When the sketch is pressed the autumn version appears; where instead of apples falling they are now leaves. 

Falling circles effect

Highlight:

There isn’t a code I’m proud of, I’m mainly happy that I was able to take something that I envisioned and was able to create it since I was worried about that.

But I am pleased with how easily I was able to incorporate the loop function.

//   leaves
  for (let x=0; x<=width; x+=35){
    for (let y=0; y<=height; y+=50){
      fill('#4CAF50');
      strokeWeight(5);
      stroke('#54AF4C');
      circle(x,y/2,40);
    }
  }

Improvements:

I think it would be cool to incorporate all four seasons instead of two. Also if I could actually recreate the game that originally inspired me; and be able to somehow catch the apples.

Casey Reas explored the interplay between order and chaos in art. The artworks he showed in the start intrigued me, it was simple but didn’t look like art created by code. It felt organic, having movement even through it was still. It maintained a sense of human touch and spontaneity despite its underlying systematic principles; the mix of chaos and order. 

I liked his approach and perspective. towards the end he says the graphics are underwhelming/simple. But he thinks it encourages you to look closer (his goal). I like the last art pieces he showed where it’s interactive in how the art piece ends. As you have control to create as well. He claims that each of these are algorithmically uninteresting. Except the idea of being able to expose the system, which he finds engaging. I think this explains art perfectly: the relationship between surface simplicity and underlying complexity. That the value of art lies not in its immediate visual impact but its capacity to reveal the deeper truth and meaning of it. That also viewing art and understanding the process/meaning of it gives you two very different perspectives.

For me, Casey Reas’ talk on the balance between randomness and control in artistic process appeared to be extremely motivational and spot-on. Although Reas does not provide a definitive answer on where this balance lies, the ideas he presents are still compelling and thought-provoking. For instance, I loved the way in which he highlighted the beauty of imprecision, suggesting that it stems from nature itself (which unexpectedly reminded me of the recent reading from another class on the beginning of life on Earth). To prove his point, Casey refers to the “randomness in order” seen in the artwork that demonstrates protein molecules communicating within a cancer cell. This non-obvious connection between the chaotic patterns of nature and those found in computer programming was truly eye-opening.

As I begin to work on my own creative projects using coding, I am constantly reflecting on how much I will rely on chance. For me, randomness is simply a tool to help achieve a creative goal, but it is by no means the most decisive factor. I firmly agree with Reas that artistic choices involve a little magic of chance, but they are mostly guided by thoughtful decision-making about the final result. This applies to all forms of art, as the artistic process is always shaped by stylistic choices, vision, and ideas that arise from the creative mind long before the actual craft begins. Henceforth, there is no “chance” in the foundational decision of what the work will make the viewer feel. The uncertainty only lies in the ways the effect is reached: that’s where embracing the beauty of chance and experiment becomes so handy.

Reflecting Eyeo2012 lecture by Casey Reas

Casey Reas starts with the statement that nature constituted the chaos in the world, but after, order was introduced by God. I was surprised by such an idea, because in my worldview people are the ones causing chaos in neatly ordered nature. Learning on biology classes about different systems that existed in nature, like nutrient cycling, I was thinking about humans intervening in these structures and causing disorder. But, now, looking back to Reas’ statement, I feel like maybe it is God and humanity who decided to order all the processes in our ecosystem, so that it would be easier for us to live with them. Moreover, I started thinking about how exactly artists are maintaining order with their works. Don’t they question the initial order of things to break through it? I felt like art was always about the protest, but now I do think I was partly wrong. 

Looking at the artworks that experiment with total randomness in images, I really liked how the same patterns get transformed to different mediums and it adds to the idea of a chance and minimum control of future image (07:07 about process 18). In addition, I couldn’t fully understand what’s the optimum balance between total randomness and complete control, because some works used a little bit of randomness and mostly decision making, which gets us to the point that we can control the amount of randomness, and it is a contradictory statement at its core. 

I really liked the author’s throwback to the past interactions of artists with a chance. It reflected in me in a sense that previous generations were highly afraid of chaos or anarchy, which is why destruction of an order in artworks was considered a radical gesture. But, as previous generations, we did experience different wars and uncertainties, and I think what makes us different from them and what makes artists be more confident and open about using randomness in arts, it is a sense of freedom and being okay with not knowing everything. Before I didn’t really think about historical events being influential on appealing to order and chaos, but now I do. 

In the video, the quote of Richter: “Chance is always planned, but also very surprising” resonated with me because chance is needed to introduce something different and disruptive. 

Observing Mondrian’s work, I didn’t expect to understand that order actually does not limit emotion and spirit, even in total order there is a room for interpretation and imagination. Moreover, looking at different algorithms presented by Reas, an association with the game PacMan came to my mind, since it also employed balance between order and randomness.

One thing that I, as an art history major, really enjoyed about Casey Reas’s talk on chance operations is the way he connected the topic to the Dada movement in art, referencing the desire of artists to break away from the pre-World War I  conventions of logic and reason. However, as Reas proposes applying the same elements of randomness through generative computer algorithms to create art, I couldn’t help but begin to question its compatibility with my understanding of what constitutes art.

To me, art is something birthed by human deliberation; it encompasses the story, the soul of the artist. When we leave it to chance operations to work and create independently of the intents of the human artist, can we still consider it a meaningful, artistic creation? But just as Jackson Pollock was the one waving his brushes with much force for the paint droplets to create random patterns, the programmer is the one who sets up and sends the computer programs into motion in the first place, allowing these chance operations to create the unexpected. These pieces are not possible without the programmer setting the parameters, and while I do not have a definitive answer about whether this makes them real artists or not, I think it’s nonetheless interesting to see how the role of an artist evolves over time.

Concept:

• The idea for this assignment is to replicate the look of sound waves as they would appear in computer applications: comprised of multiple parallel vertical lines that fluctuate in length to reflect changes in volume. While it is currently beyond the scope of my coding capabilities to create something that actually responds to external sound input, it would nonetheless be a good opportunity for me to practice using for() loops to generate repetition as well as randomized elements.

Highlight:

• I am proud of having utilized the random() function within the for() loop in order to generate rectangles that are in fixed positions but have randomized lengths that change every time the frame refreshes, replicating the look and movement of a sound wave.

for(let x=0;x <= width; x +=15){
  noStroke();
  fill(random(0,50),random(150,200),random(30,255));
  rectMode(CENTER);
  rect(x,200,10,random(20,200));
}

Sketch:

Future improvements:

• The point of sound waves being depicted as such in computer programs is to reflect the volume of the sounds being recorded. In the future, it would be interesting to have the lines respond to various inputs such as clicking, cursor hovering, and sound.