Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Why Love Generative Art?

artnome.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

51–60 of 85 posts

Re: Why Love Generative Art?

#51

Post by zmitri »

filleokus wrote: post #46

Are there any artists who work in kind of the intersection between data visualisation and generative art? I'm thinking of works where the main point is not necessarily to show the data as clearly as possible (i.e not a graph), but rather where the data is somehow interleaved and helps tell the story. Somewhat similar to the map of the US in the article based on the roads.

Yes, there are lots. I would say Mike Bostock of d3 fame is an example of someone who does that well, as so is Yi Shen (https://twitter.com/pissang1).

Re: Why Love Generative Art?

#52

Post by zwkrt »

tokyodude wrote: post #42
dahart wrote: post #22

The problem with generative art is not that it isn’t considered art by everyone. The main problems are: - It is very difficult to value. One can’t see at a glance whether it took time or skill to create. And similar to other types of art that involve mechanical reproduction, e.g. photography, generative art can be produced on demand, it’s not irreplaceable like a sculpture or painting is. - It usually lacks a good st…

I also love generative art ... mostly .... and I've made quite a bit but ....... The problem I have is generally when it appears to me it didn't require much effort. Making a program that draws random dots, random rectangles, random lines, is almost a rite of passage for new programmers. A lot of generative art looks like hardly many more steps beyond that. Draw 100 rectangle each slightly smaller and rotated from th…

I think one aspect that is forgotten is that the artist/programmer of generative art still provides value in curation. One of my favorite corners of the internet is http://kingjamesprogramming.tumblr.com/ . On the face of it these are just Markov chain sentences. However, the author still had agency in choosing not only the source material but also the chains he/she chose to publish. I'm sure for each post there are dozens of sentences discarded.

Re: Why Love Generative Art?

#53

Post by bane »

java_script wrote: post #12

Check this shit out https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqayDnQ2wmw (epilepsy warning)

As a demoscener, it's always awesome to see our craft leak out into other places. Aphex Twin getting in on the aesthetic is a real feather in the cap of the scene.

Re: Why Love Generative Art?

#54

Post by lancesells »

dahart wrote: post #22

The problem with generative art is not that it isn’t considered art by everyone. The main problems are: - It is very difficult to value. One can’t see at a glance whether it took time or skill to create. And similar to other types of art that involve mechanical reproduction, e.g. photography, generative art can be produced on demand, it’s not irreplaceable like a sculpture or painting is. - It usually lacks a good st…

I think the point about value / story / theme is the same in all mediums of art. I'm a traditional artist and I can tell you there are a million oil painters out there producing work that no one will pay money for or consider valuable.

Personally, I think there's a market for generative art out there but it'll be the 1% that you'll hear about and it will take the right blend of personality, aesthetics, theme, and timing to get right.

Re: Why Love Generative Art?

#55

Post by dahart »

kowdermeister wrote: post #45
dahart wrote: post #22

The problem with generative art is not that it isn’t considered art by everyone. The main problems are: - It is very difficult to value. One can’t see at a glance whether it took time or skill to create. And similar to other types of art that involve mechanical reproduction, e.g. photography, generative art can be produced on demand, it’s not irreplaceable like a sculpture or painting is. - It usually lacks a good st…

> The problem with generative art is There are no problems. It's just another art form. > I’ve met a lot of people who hate all things digital, as well as a lot of people who get what I do and love it So just ignore them. There is always an audience who will appreciate your work. > I explored what it might take to make a living from generative art I'm doing that currently as well, but I think it always will be my sid…

> There are no problems. It's just another art form.

:) You are right, of course. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The "problems" I list are based on unspoken assumptions about what the goal is.

> So just ignore them. There is always an audience who will appreciate your work.

Totally agree, and ignoring them is an option. I'm personally interested in hearing out the haters and learning what valuable lessons are there. Partly this comes from finding out that my story just isn't compelling to people who don't know any programming or math, and wanting to learn how to craft a story that is compelling to more people.

Re: Why Love Generative Art?

#56

Post by monfera »

codingdave wrote: post #34
dahart wrote: post #22

The problem with generative art is not that it isn’t considered art by everyone. The main problems are: - It is very difficult to value. One can’t see at a glance whether it took time or skill to create. And similar to other types of art that involve mechanical reproduction, e.g. photography, generative art can be produced on demand, it’s not irreplaceable like a sculpture or painting is. - It usually lacks a good st…

> The problem with generative art is not that it isn’t considered art by everyone. Abstract Art in general isn't considered "Art" by everyone, especially in the days of Abstract Expressionism and Jackson Pollack. While I do appreciate the thoughts around generative art, these discussions are not new. But it is a new generation using new tools, re-discovering the arguments from the mid 20th century. The question isn't…

Good points. A minor thing, generative art isn't necessarily abstract art, though currently almost exclusively is. (Oh and spelled Pollock.) Regarding validation, it might not matter for some, but might for others. I'm sure there were quite a few great artists who wouldn't have done their art at the same level had there not been validation as art. Something more mundane, recognition is likely a big factor in whether patrons seek out and are willing to pay for generative art. So it can matter even for those who aren't looking for the ego lifting part.

Re: Why Love Generative Art?

#57

Post by mattdesl »

tokyodude wrote: post #42
dahart wrote: post #22

The problem with generative art is not that it isn’t considered art by everyone. The main problems are: - It is very difficult to value. One can’t see at a glance whether it took time or skill to create. And similar to other types of art that involve mechanical reproduction, e.g. photography, generative art can be produced on demand, it’s not irreplaceable like a sculpture or painting is. - It usually lacks a good st…

I also love generative art ... mostly .... and I've made quite a bit but ....... The problem I have is generally when it appears to me it didn't require much effort. Making a program that draws random dots, random rectangles, random lines, is almost a rite of passage for new programmers. A lot of generative art looks like hardly many more steps beyond that. Draw 100 rectangle each slightly smaller and rotated from th…

These issues apply to all forms of art. An artist can spend a few minutes splashing paint on a canvas and decide whether or not to call it art. And, depending on the context and audience, it may or may not be perceived as art.

I don't think you will find a lot of satisfaction by looking at art through the lens of "How long did this take the artist to make?"

With that said, most people making generative art are just doing it for fun, so it's no wonder so much of it looks the same. :)

Re: Why Love Generative Art?

#58

Post by tomjen3 »

tokyodude wrote: post #42
dahart wrote: post #22

The problem with generative art is not that it isn’t considered art by everyone. The main problems are: - It is very difficult to value. One can’t see at a glance whether it took time or skill to create. And similar to other types of art that involve mechanical reproduction, e.g. photography, generative art can be produced on demand, it’s not irreplaceable like a sculpture or painting is. - It usually lacks a good st…

I also love generative art ... mostly .... and I've made quite a bit but ....... The problem I have is generally when it appears to me it didn't require much effort. Making a program that draws random dots, random rectangles, random lines, is almost a rite of passage for new programmers. A lot of generative art looks like hardly many more steps beyond that. Draw 100 rectangle each slightly smaller and rotated from th…

Don't forget that 99+% of the population can not program at all.

Re: Why Love Generative Art?

#59

Post by mattdesl »

Nice to see generative art discussed on the frontpage. :)

I think the next several years will be really interesting for generative art. Consumers are getting more interested in it, and some of our tools and collective knowledge has really grown since the days of Flash and before. In some cases, we are revisiting old techniques with new & easier-to-use hardware, like AxiDraw pen plotters. It's allowing artists to iterate more quickly and become better curators of their output.

Open source and online tools like Glitch are helping share knowledge and ideas, and together the community is pushing each other toward more and more interesting results (conceptually, algorithmically and aesthetically). The community (mostly Twitter & IG) is one of the things that makes generative art so fun to be a part of.

Totally shameless self-plug: you can follow my own generative art on IG below [1]. I hope to set up an online print shop in the coming months.

[1] - https://www.instagram.com/mattdesl_art

Re: Why Love Generative Art?

#60

Post by kjeetgill »

mattdesl wrote: post #59

Nice to see generative art discussed on the frontpage. :) I think the next several years will be really interesting for generative art. Consumers are getting more interested in it, and some of our tools and collective knowledge has really grown since the days of Flash and before. In some cases, we are revisiting old techniques with new & easier-to-use hardware, like AxiDraw pen plotters. It's allowing artists to iter…

Absolutely beautiful work. My childhood love for sketching and doodling grew into a love for digital art (Macromedia Flash 5 anyone?) and later generative art. Anytime I'd try my hand at with generative I spent way too long trying to get a setup or a workflow together.

Eventually they get left in the island misfit quarter-done side projects well before I've gotten to playing with images.

Any advice? Stories on workflow? Is this all in processing?

Post reply on HN