Algorithmic Drawing Machines.

I began the project wishing to further my use of Processing as a drawing tool. My intentions were to develop an 'algorithmic drawing machine', capable of producing drawings that I would previously have made by hand. Instead of focusing on producing one 'generative' program to yield unpredictable results I have concentrated my efforts on maintaining a level of control over the structure of the code and using that code in different ways.

Most of what I make seems to maintain a solipsistic approach, void of external reference and narrative. It is indebted to Systems Art in general and more specifically to the Minimal artist Sol LeWitt. 

LeWitt's 'Serial Projects', 1966-7, diagrammatically revealed the boundaries of predetermined systems by holistically exhausting  all of their possible combinations. I have tried to echo this approach within the work that I have presented. 

'360 lines within 2 circles rotating around 360 degrees'  shows three hundred and sixty lines combining to form two circles. The lines are re-presented over and over again, rotated at intervals of one degree, until they complete the sequence of one full rotation and the system repeats itself. The titles of my work owe something to LeWitt, whose work's also have descriptive, literal titles.

As this project has developed upon the screen, I have focused my research on 'Net' artists, trawling internet gallery sites such as 'Vvork' and looking at artists like Claude Clasky, who influenced my decision to instill my animations with a strong underlying structure. To inject a contemporary aesthetic into my work I have referred to Daniel Von Sturmer, who represented Australia in last years Venice Biennale. He presents his digital objects and videos cleanly, upon small unassuming screens, so that they 'talk' to each other through their architecture. In presenting my work in exhibitions in the future I would look to take influence from him.

I spent the vast majority of my time developing the code and getting the objects that I was drawing to the screen to behave exactly as i intended. I am satisfied that I accomplished this. Towards the latter stages the project developed into an area that I will explore further. 

Developing algorithms to print the individual iterations of the animations one by one onto paper effectively reversed the automated process back into a manual one. I will video the process of printing these in real time, and speed the videos up so that they become animated like their screen based counterparts. To question the value of the 'machine made' in relation to the 'machine generated' I will exhibit the works together. 

The questions that I am asking of the work now are paradoxical to the questions that I asked within my original brief. What was intended as an exercise in programming the computer to draw what I could otherwise have made by hand, has developed into a manual computational process mirroring the functions undertaken by the computer. I find this particularly exciting, and to a certain extent consider it to be 'new'!