The influence of data system mapping is immediately apparent when first confronted with the drawings of Emma McNally. The complexity of lines could represent online chatter, the flight path of starlings, or a new global epidemic. But they are all pencil on paper and any system that is being plotted here exists purely within McNally's mind.
Labels: Art, Edge of Chaos, illustration, Minimalism
Sunday, November 01, 2009
Supercollider 140
"When Dan [Stowell] started tweeting snippets of SuperCollider code he expected a lot of "throwaway waffle" but collated also a bunch of really interesting things...Many of these pieces are actually generative, so if you re-run the source code (the track titles) you get a new piece of music."
—Susanna Glaser at The Mire
writing about the live coding music project Supercollider140, 22 pieces by artists from around the world, each piece created with just 140 characters of code.
"When Dan [Stowell] started tweeting snippets of SuperCollider code he expected a lot of "throwaway waffle" but collated also a bunch of really interesting things...Many of these pieces are actually generative, so if you re-run the source code (the track titles) you get a new piece of music."
—Susanna Glaser at The Mire
writing about the live coding music project Supercollider140, 22 pieces by artists from around the world, each piece created with just 140 characters of code.
Labels: Edge of Chaos, Music
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
Britain seen from the skies above
Trailer for a new BBC series that uses satellite tracking and computer imaging to map the "unseen ballet of Britain".
Trailer for a new BBC series that uses satellite tracking and computer imaging to map the "unseen ballet of Britain".
Labels: Edge of Chaos
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Joshua Davis On Pollock & Dynamic Abstraction
“Among modern artists I conceptually identify with Jackson Pollock - not that I’m a particular fan of his visual style, but because he always identified himself as a painter, even though a lot of the time his brush never hit the canvas. There’s something in that disconnect - not using a brush or tool in traditional methods."
and
“Pollock might argue that it’s the process of abstraction that’s dynamic, not the end result, which in his case is a static painting. In my own work, the end result is never static; by making room for as many anomalies as possible, every composition generated by the programs we write is unique to itself. I’ll program the “brushes,” the “paints,” the “strokes,” the “rules”, and the “boundaries”. However it is the software that creates the compositions — the programs draw themselves. I am in a constant state of surprise and discovery, because the program may structure compositions that I may never have thought of to execute or might take me hours to create manually.”
-Joshua Davis
“Among modern artists I conceptually identify with Jackson Pollock - not that I’m a particular fan of his visual style, but because he always identified himself as a painter, even though a lot of the time his brush never hit the canvas. There’s something in that disconnect - not using a brush or tool in traditional methods."
and
“Pollock might argue that it’s the process of abstraction that’s dynamic, not the end result, which in his case is a static painting. In my own work, the end result is never static; by making room for as many anomalies as possible, every composition generated by the programs we write is unique to itself. I’ll program the “brushes,” the “paints,” the “strokes,” the “rules”, and the “boundaries”. However it is the software that creates the compositions — the programs draw themselves. I am in a constant state of surprise and discovery, because the program may structure compositions that I may never have thought of to execute or might take me hours to create manually.”
-Joshua Davis
Labels: Design, Edge of Chaos
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Visualizing Data for the Masses
Searching for examples of info graphics from the New York Times, I found this great collection of work by Megan Jaegerman (on Tufte's site no less). Also worth checking out: Matthew Ericson, the Deputy Graphics Director at the NY Times, recently gave the keynote at an info graphics conference in California. You can download the slides (pdf) for this presentation titled “Visualizing Data for the Masses: Information Graphics at The New York Times”. (all of this via: db79.com)
Searching for examples of info graphics from the New York Times, I found this great collection of work by Megan Jaegerman (on Tufte's site no less). Also worth checking out: Matthew Ericson, the Deputy Graphics Director at the NY Times, recently gave the keynote at an info graphics conference in California. You can download the slides (pdf) for this presentation titled “Visualizing Data for the Masses: Information Graphics at The New York Times”. (all of this via: db79.com)
Labels: Design, Edge of Chaos, NY Times
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
The Virtual Water Project
"The water footprint of a person, company or nation is defined as the total volume of freshwater that is used to produce the commodities, goods and services consumed by the person, company or nation."
Designer Timm Kekeritz creates something tangible (and beautiful) through his poster design for The Virtual Water Project.
"The water footprint of a person, company or nation is defined as the total volume of freshwater that is used to produce the commodities, goods and services consumed by the person, company or nation."
Designer Timm Kekeritz creates something tangible (and beautiful) through his poster design for The Virtual Water Project.
Labels: Design, Design Can Change the World, Edge of Chaos
Thursday, July 12, 2007
When the routine bites hard
From Visual Complexity:
"Using information design principles and graphical techniques, the 85+ recorded covers of Joy Division's "Love Will Tear Us Apart" is mapped in relation to the original recordings by the band."
The requisite soundtrack...
...and the trailer for Anton Corbijn's Control.
From Visual Complexity:
"Using information design principles and graphical techniques, the 85+ recorded covers of Joy Division's "Love Will Tear Us Apart" is mapped in relation to the original recordings by the band."
The requisite soundtrack...
...and the trailer for Anton Corbijn's Control.
Labels: Design, Edge of Chaos, Music
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Floating Canvases
"My intention is to create work that asks questions about the implications of urban sprawl and its impact on the environment. I am interested in creating psychological narratives set in closed systems that express the behavior of and the interaction between humans and animals. The dystopian model creates a dynamic playing field where I can experiment with these ideas and forms."
The stunning, isometrically-inclined work of Josh Keyes.
"My intention is to create work that asks questions about the implications of urban sprawl and its impact on the environment. I am interested in creating psychological narratives set in closed systems that express the behavior of and the interaction between humans and animals. The dystopian model creates a dynamic playing field where I can experiment with these ideas and forms."
The stunning, isometrically-inclined work of Josh Keyes.
Labels: Art, Edge of Chaos
Thursday, May 03, 2007
An Intolerable Beauty
Chris Jordan's photographic essays seem to always be preoccupied with uncovering beauty in the spoils of our society. Discarded circuit boards take on a patchwork air, while a rack of waterlogged dresses hints at a rainbow in the otherwise twisted wake of a post-Katrina New Orleans. In his series Running the Numbers, he uses statistics as his subject, producing compelling large scale photographic collages that serve as visual representations of societal numbers that are often too collosally abstract to even try to comprehend.
As Jordan states: "I am appalled by these scenes, and yet also drawn into them with awe and fascination. The immense scale of our consumption can appear desolate, macabre, oddly comical and ironic, and even darkly beautiful; for me its consistent feature is a staggering complexity."
Chris Jordan's photographic essays seem to always be preoccupied with uncovering beauty in the spoils of our society. Discarded circuit boards take on a patchwork air, while a rack of waterlogged dresses hints at a rainbow in the otherwise twisted wake of a post-Katrina New Orleans. In his series Running the Numbers, he uses statistics as his subject, producing compelling large scale photographic collages that serve as visual representations of societal numbers that are often too collosally abstract to even try to comprehend.
As Jordan states: "I am appalled by these scenes, and yet also drawn into them with awe and fascination. The immense scale of our consumption can appear desolate, macabre, oddly comical and ironic, and even darkly beautiful; for me its consistent feature is a staggering complexity."
Labels: Art, Disasters, Edge of Chaos, Photography
Monday, February 05, 2007
Edge of Chaos
As a followup to yesterday's entry:
"Functional visualizations are more than innovative statistical analyses and computational algorithms. They must make sense to the user and require a visual language system that uses colour, shape, line, hierarchy and composition to communicate clearly and appropriately, much like the alphabetic and character-based languages used worldwide between humans."
Matt Woolman
Digital Information Graphics
As a followup to yesterday's entry:
"Functional visualizations are more than innovative statistical analyses and computational algorithms. They must make sense to the user and require a visual language system that uses colour, shape, line, hierarchy and composition to communicate clearly and appropriately, much like the alphabetic and character-based languages used worldwide between humans."
Matt Woolman
Digital Information Graphics
Labels: Design, Design Can Change the World, Edge of Chaos, World at Large
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
It is not only fine feathers...
"I've been somewhat disappointed with my creative output as of late. So, with a day off of client work, I set out this morning to make something interesting before the end of the day."
So begins Jer Thorp's entry over at blprnt introducing his latest personal Flash project, Plumage which takes a Flickr tag and creates a set of feathers from the colour data in the image. Very cool.
"I've been somewhat disappointed with my creative output as of late. So, with a day off of client work, I set out this morning to make something interesting before the end of the day."
So begins Jer Thorp's entry over at blprnt introducing his latest personal Flash project, Plumage which takes a Flickr tag and creates a set of feathers from the colour data in the image. Very cool.
Labels: Collaborators, Design, Edge of Chaos
Monday, May 15, 2006
Strange Connections
I would suspect that there are few people out there who would proudly post the entire laundry list of their Google search queries on any given day. Sometimes the wee midnight hours can inspire some twisted cyber journeys. Being on the receiving end of such quests can be quite amusing. I use tracksy to check this site's traffic records and every so often I get a very enlightening glimpse into the stranger habits of some of my visitors. For example, I take great pride in the fact that broome:ideas and executions is the number one search result for surfers looking for this. Such moments are such a positive affirmation that I am really connecting with "my people".
So with that in mind, I would like to take this opportunity to welcome - since my last post on the French film Renaissance- all of the searchers of "castration pics". They join the surprisingly large number of people looking for "photos of executions" in being so incredibly and completely blown off course. (But I hope you enjoy your visit here nonetheless ;)
I would suspect that there are few people out there who would proudly post the entire laundry list of their Google search queries on any given day. Sometimes the wee midnight hours can inspire some twisted cyber journeys. Being on the receiving end of such quests can be quite amusing. I use tracksy to check this site's traffic records and every so often I get a very enlightening glimpse into the stranger habits of some of my visitors. For example, I take great pride in the fact that broome:ideas and executions is the number one search result for surfers looking for this. Such moments are such a positive affirmation that I am really connecting with "my people".
So with that in mind, I would like to take this opportunity to welcome - since my last post on the French film Renaissance- all of the searchers of "castration pics". They join the surprisingly large number of people looking for "photos of executions" in being so incredibly and completely blown off course. (But I hope you enjoy your visit here nonetheless ;)
Labels: Edge of Chaos
Friday, May 05, 2006
Droppin' Science
Sometimes it really does pay to look in the complete opposite direction to find what you are looking for. Case in point: after a solid half day of typing in search queries like "mathematical models" and "processing genetic animations", I took a break and followed a link from 3 Quarks Daily to Seed Magazine to read an article about Science and the Simpsons. In doing so, I discovered this flash experiment called Phylotaxis by Jonathan Harris, which is pretty much exactly what I was searching for in the first place. Harris' work in general is a really nice mix of scientific theory and clean design aesthetic. Very inspiring.
As for what I'm working on, it is still very much in the concept stage. But I hope to have a few new pieces up in my portfolio soon.
Sometimes it really does pay to look in the complete opposite direction to find what you are looking for. Case in point: after a solid half day of typing in search queries like "mathematical models" and "processing genetic animations", I took a break and followed a link from 3 Quarks Daily to Seed Magazine to read an article about Science and the Simpsons. In doing so, I discovered this flash experiment called Phylotaxis by Jonathan Harris, which is pretty much exactly what I was searching for in the first place. Harris' work in general is a really nice mix of scientific theory and clean design aesthetic. Very inspiring.
As for what I'm working on, it is still very much in the concept stage. But I hope to have a few new pieces up in my portfolio soon.
Labels: Edge of Chaos
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Art by Number
SIGGRAPH hosted a talk this evening called Art by Number:Generating Dynamic Art with Flash with presenters Jeremy Thorp of Blprnt.com and Gary Stasiuk of Liquidjourney.com. I am a hack coder at best so I should let the work speak for itself, although I do suggest checking out Jer's DarwInstrument which essentially applies a combination of genetic theory, selection of the fittest and mutant variables to the evolution of a more pleasing musical sound -- yeah, exactly.
I won't pretend that I know what I'm talking about here but I do love the art and the philosophy behind it. Anyone who has read "Chaos" by James Gleik will have an understanding of how complexity is responsible for the patterns of nature; and anyone who is an artist will know what I mean when I refer to the "happy accident". Both of these ideas play a role in Generative Art. It is a matter of setting initial conditions without a predetermined outcome and then observing what becomes of the end result.
There are a great number of artists that are practicing similar forms of generative art. I have been a fan of Joshua Davis' algorithmic creations for years and his recent collaboration with BMW is pretty damn cool. As is the work of Jared Tarbell of which I blogged about a few months back.
But what caught my attention the most this evening was a reference by Jer to the artist Manfred Mohr, who was creating beautiful and minimalistic computer-generated algorithmic art as early as 1969. Considering the direction that we have since taken in our culture and techonology, it is amazing that Mohr has not earned a more recognized place amongst the great artists of the 20th Century.
SIGGRAPH hosted a talk this evening called Art by Number:Generating Dynamic Art with Flash with presenters Jeremy Thorp of Blprnt.com and Gary Stasiuk of Liquidjourney.com. I am a hack coder at best so I should let the work speak for itself, although I do suggest checking out Jer's DarwInstrument which essentially applies a combination of genetic theory, selection of the fittest and mutant variables to the evolution of a more pleasing musical sound -- yeah, exactly.
I won't pretend that I know what I'm talking about here but I do love the art and the philosophy behind it. Anyone who has read "Chaos" by James Gleik will have an understanding of how complexity is responsible for the patterns of nature; and anyone who is an artist will know what I mean when I refer to the "happy accident". Both of these ideas play a role in Generative Art. It is a matter of setting initial conditions without a predetermined outcome and then observing what becomes of the end result.
There are a great number of artists that are practicing similar forms of generative art. I have been a fan of Joshua Davis' algorithmic creations for years and his recent collaboration with BMW is pretty damn cool. As is the work of Jared Tarbell of which I blogged about a few months back.
But what caught my attention the most this evening was a reference by Jer to the artist Manfred Mohr, who was creating beautiful and minimalistic computer-generated algorithmic art as early as 1969. Considering the direction that we have since taken in our culture and techonology, it is amazing that Mohr has not earned a more recognized place amongst the great artists of the 20th Century.
Labels: Art, Collaborators, Design, Edge of Chaos
Monday, November 28, 2005
The Paranoiac Space
of Modernism
I've been searching for a decent link to photographer Dave Maisel's series "Oblivion" —brilliant and terrifying aerial photos of the LA sprawl—ever since I fist saw it featured in the September issue of Dwell Magazine. On his subject, Maisel writes:
"In his book “Warped Space,” the architectural theorist Anthony Vidler speaks of the 'paranoiac space of modernism,' a space which is 'mutated into a realm of panic, where all limits and boundaries become blurred…' These words come to mind when considering the urban aerial images of Los Angeles and its periphery shown here, excerpted from my photographic project called Oblivion."
of Modernism
I've been searching for a decent link to photographer Dave Maisel's series "Oblivion" —brilliant and terrifying aerial photos of the LA sprawl—ever since I fist saw it featured in the September issue of Dwell Magazine. On his subject, Maisel writes:
"In his book “Warped Space,” the architectural theorist Anthony Vidler speaks of the 'paranoiac space of modernism,' a space which is 'mutated into a realm of panic, where all limits and boundaries become blurred…' These words come to mind when considering the urban aerial images of Los Angeles and its periphery shown here, excerpted from my photographic project called Oblivion."
Labels: Art, Edge of Chaos, LA, Photography
Friday, July 15, 2005
Complexification
Beautiful, stark, organic and complex algorithmic artwork at complexification.net. Via blprnt.blg.
Beautiful, stark, organic and complex algorithmic artwork at complexification.net. Via blprnt.blg.
Labels: Art, Design, Edge of Chaos
