Ackso-LookingOutwards02

Hanz Haacke’s Condensation Cube consists of an acrylic cube filled with water that evaporates and condenses on the cube’s walls due to the temperature difference between the inside and outside. The water may condense into droplets of various sizes due to the intensity of the temperature differential, until they reach a certain size at which point they slide down forming a streak. As a result, the pattern is always unique. Haacke compared this system to a living organism that “reacts in a flexible manner to its surroundings”. In this case, he is filling the role of evolution, which optimizes organisms over time towards a vague goal just as he optimized the cube to display the patter, and then leaves the details to randomness. I find this comparison enlightening in the context of generative art as well as biology, and I have a separate appreciation for the form of the piece.