Chromatic Typewriter

Tyree Callahan created the Chromatic Typewriter by modifying a vintage typewriter. While the art in the first image was not actually created by the typewriter, the second image was.
As we can see, the typewriter creates a beautiful paragraph of color. While this is a very literal combination of art and computing, I can see so much potential with a machine like this. I think of Mozart's dice game, where the measures changed as the dice was rolled, or the measures were assigned letters so that Mozart could give each girl he fancied her very own unique piece. With the chromatic typewriter, each color takes the place of a specific letter than we would normally associate with that spot on a keyboard. It would be so easy then, to turn a written name, poem, or story into a color piece of art. You would type the story with the keyboard as if the letters were there, and you would be left with not typed words, but a beautiful colorful piece of work that would be different and unique to each sentence, word, or name. Beautiful!

Sol Lewitt

I'm inspired by Sol Lewitt today.
He said, "When an artist uses a conceptual form of art, it means that the planning and decisions are made beforehand and the execution is a perfunctory affair. The idea becomes a machine that makes art." He, as an artist, came up with an idea, but allowed the piece to be created by the audience. I love the idea that a person can make the art their own. I think of a high school art teacher giving instructions on what the next art assignment is. There are specific instructions, but each person is able to make the piece their self and make it their own. Perhaps this is not exactly the same thing as the techniques used by Sol Lewitt, but the social and interactive aspect of the piece seems to be generally the same. There are specific instructions, but lots of space to explore. So perhaps, Sol Lewitt was only ever a glorified art teacher?

Portraying Emotion in Generative Art

I was impressed with a thesis paper this week that is titled,

portraying emotion in generative music composition 

written by Alison Mattek. I was reminded of my definition of art having to do with conveying the emotion of the artist, and this topic name threw me off. I do believe that computers could generate art, but I had never thought about this idea that they can actually portray emotion through that art. Do computers and programs feel anything? Is the computer portraying the emotion of the program creator? Is the generative piece simply modeling the emotion that would be felt if the piece had been written by a specific person? So many questions.

The paper is really very interesting though and it goes on to talk about algorithms that have been created in order to create the same type of emotion that would be felt if the piece had been created by a human. This is done by tweaking and programming different elements of the piece. As the paper states, "Recent research in music perception has correlated the quality of specific musical features (e.g. harmony, tempo, timbre) with certain emotional reactions in the listener." These musical features can then be changed around to evoke the desired emotion, and this process can be taught to computers.

If generative pieces really can evoke and display emotion, then one would argue that computers definitely can make art.

Interactive Installation Art

Camille Utterback is an artist that creates "interactive installations". She creates shapes that move according to user input from video cameras. This input goes into her program and results in the movment and flowing of the piece. In this videro, Utterback states, "When creating a piece its almost like creating a whole environment." This is because the piece is not static, but constantly moving and changing. Utterback addresses the fact that she is using projection now much less than in the past and her pieces are now usually done with LEDs. She worries about what this means for light itself in the art world. I find this interesting myself, because so much of what we do with painting and such is pigmentation and it is all possible because of light. As we move away from light into other means of displaying art, we must find new ways to express those same feelings with a different medium. I appreciate Utterback's pieces because it allows the user to put a say into what the piece means to them. It makes the piece personal, and more meaningful to each distinct individual and their distinct experiences with the piece.

Wonderbook (Augmented Reality)

I am so impressed with Playstation's Wonderbook. The Wonderbook uses augmented reality in the form of a story book that becomes a game. As the player turns the pages of the book, they see things growing out of the pages on the tv screen. The interaction of the book promotes learning, and can be used for many different forms of education. In this video, we see how the Wonderbook becomes a "spell book" from the world of Harry Potter. As the user interacts, they learn spells that they must later use to duel and pass levels. While, not particularly art, I love the idea of using augmented reality in education. It would be absolutely incredible to use the Wonderbook to learn art history. Instead of simply seeing the picture of a sculpture in a textbook, you would be able to see the 3D image, moving it around to see all angles. It would not only be a more interactive way to learn, but more exciting as well.

Today's Spirograph

I remember playing with Spirographs when I was little. It was this drawing toy with little gears that would produce beautiful geometric designs due to its mathematical shapes.

This year I actually learned how to make the same shapes using python on a computer. The result is much faster, and seemingly more intricate, and changeable with a simple backspace and number change. I'm impressed that I do not have to pull out my Spirograph kit and handle the various gears and shapes in order to create the same art that is now so easily accessible. Today, Spirograph programs can be used for all kinds of things up to audio visualization of music. This is possible because computers and the algorithms it uses to create these shapes, can erase and draw faster that I can put my pencil in the little hole of one of the gears in the original Spirograph kit. Modern day technology is faster and more efficient and more intricate than that of the past, and it is exciting to see what has been done to improve art given this new medium.

"What Is Art?"

Leo Tolstoy published an essay in 1896 called "What Is Art?" The essay gives the authors opinion that art should affect the audience, and therefore bring the artist and the viewer together. With this definition, stories, paintings, etc. are all considered art if they "infect" the viewer with the feelings of the artist. Of course, not all art pieces make one gasp and awe at the feelings it invokes in them. And so Tolstoy makes it clear that there are good and bad kinds of art. The good art "infects" the viewer.

I like this definition of art because it shows that there is something involved from inside of ourselves. True art is evoked by emotion. It is an expression of that which cannot be explained any other way. However, I understand that there are many art pieces that mean absolutely nothing. A high school student trying to pass a class might make a piece of art just to get a grade. If asked what the meaning is, they would make one up on the spot, because as we know, art is supposed to have meaning. If it doesn't have one before the piece is created, then a bologna answer can be thought up afterwards in order to qualify the piece as art. But remember, it is all in the emotion. Duchamp's "Fountain" for example, may not be much of his own work, but as we look at the emotion he put into it and the statement he was trying to make by his piece, we see that the signed toilet is absolutely art. Think of the way that it "infected and even still infects the viewer. While I do agree believe that art can be created without their being any other viewer but the artist, I do agree with Tolstoy's idea that art should have an attached meaning. Why else would we make art if not to express ourselves?