Generative Art

We've come along way since the first ascii images and plotter machines..

Combining high quality graphics, the internet as a database, interfaces and linguistic input, the generators become almost useful - instant posters, animations of abstracted information processes - subtle communications, generative intelligent graphic streams for ambient building art..?


TypoGenerator generates posters from text (informatics, brain)














Debris Visual Art
Automatic ever changing collage from google image searching:
(keywords included electronics, robot)















Dreamlines
A generative drawing montage from text terms and web image searching - very beautiful and constantly engaging...













Imagery merges and endlessly changes, as if from a live video stream

snapshots of a sequence generated from cat, bird, mouse...




















See GenerativeNet for more links to generative art works and resources.

AV festival - LifeLike?

Over the weekend I visited Newcastle to check out the AV LifeLike festival - where "the world's leading electronic artists hold a mirror up to the modern world".
Luckily I was there to visit some friends in Newcastle...
We - three adults and toddler, drove to Sunderland to see Ken Rinaldo's Spiderbots.
Joe (ex Sussex COGS) and myself having a technical curiosity and some experience of interactive installations, public art and robotics.

12 robots in a pen, only three feebly working.
Not so impressive, the child was bored, the mother annoyed and we were amazed.
We spoke to the poor assistant who was answering irrate visitors, yes the batteries only last an hour and we only have 1 charger and the charging station does not work.
Its a pity for the robots were very interestingly constructed - if only they were actually working! One did walk a bit while we were there.
Lessons to be learnt here, especially showing work in a public arena - systems have to be robust, and things must work.
The woman who ran the cafe had some very strong opinions about the show - she was very underimpressed, especially as there had been a lot of money spent on the hype with PR events, wine etc.

Finally the AV guide, a disaster of mis-information! It was set out on a daily basis, all well and good, but if you wanted to find out where something was or what it was about, see another date, so you do, then back to find out where it was, no opening times, so you go through it again.
So that was Saturday, and on Sunday, lots to see said the guide. Where they were, what were they about, found that - opening times?
At the back of the guide all the venues were listed as being closed on a Sunday....