Novice Art Blogger is a bot with a tumblr account that uses deep learning algorithms (super cool new stuff that only recently is starting to work pretty well) to blog its thoughts on various works of abstract art. This project was interesting to me because I’ve been really interested in bots lately, having recently found out about Darius Kazemi’s Twitter bots. Also, this is the first project I’ve seen to use image recognition software creatively.
The idea is very interesting, but I feel like the way the bot describes the artworks could be more complicated. The reason I think bots are so enjoyable to make is because, with a complex enough system, every now and then the program will spit out something surprising, funny, poetic, etc. This bot hasn’t really posted anything too crazy yet.

Adam Ferris’s 100000000 pixels is a giant explorable generative image. A sort of tiny universe is contained in the 10000×10000 frame, and the algorithm is complex enough to make the universe interesting.
I really like this project because it does something clever with algorithmically generated art. Many times generative images are simply just nice to look at, and most of the enjoyment comes from the novelty of the image or forms being randomly generated/infinitely many/created by a computer etc. This piece is visually influenced by op art and makes references to famous images taken by the Hubble Telescope (also, the artist has worked with ideas about space before) which made me imagine that the piece is more than imagery, and what the artist is actually doing is creating an entire world that, although not designed by any individual, is still a world filled with mystery and is something that people want to explore.

Patterned by Nature from Sosolimited on Vimeo.

Patterned by nature is a 10′ x 90′ ribbon composed of 3,600 glass LCD tiles. By varying independently varying the transparency of each tile, animations can be displayed on the ribbon surface. The installation runs through 20 pre-programed animations that celebrate abstraction of nature’s infinite complexity into patterns through the scientific process.

My favorite aspect of this installation is its simplicity of form and integration into the space. The use of varied transparency to create figures allows the environment to interact with the animations in a compelling way.

The piece currently cycles through 20 pre-programmed animations. I wonder how the viewers experience might change if they were allowed to interact and create their own patterns. What if the installation reacted to patterns occurring naturally within the space, such as, the spacing or motion of people below it.

Vanishing Point from United Visual Artists on Vimeo.

Vanishing Point creates a space within a space using light. With the use of projection mapping, arbitrary vanishing points are chosen to define new volumes and spacial divisions to be explored by the audience.

I was most struck by the way light can be used to manipulate our experiences of reality and relationship to a physical space. Makes me wonder how much of out everyday experience is a result of our individual perception and how easily it can be manipulated.

I wonder if the experience could have been made more dynamic by adding animations to the projections that simulated motion. This could have added to the distortion of space feeling. It’s hard to tell without experiencing the piece in person though.