I’ve now moved this list over to Substack as its more simplified system will hopefully encourage me to publish The Dawesome Digest more often!
A special edition plotted generative art series to commemorate 25 years of brendandawes.com
Since 2000 brendandawes.com has been my corner of the World Wide Web where I've shared my work, ideas, code and processes. To commemorate the 25th anniversary of my site I've created a series of unique plotted generative works, each one a celebration of the beauty that arises from designing a considered system which allows for imperfections and irregularities.
Using a 2016 AxiDraw plotter, each unique work is created from a grid made up of 25 possible locations. The algorithmic system – created in Processing – makes decisions to draw lines between some of these points, occasionally drawing boxes, suggestive of a calendar. The A5 handmade cotton paper is suggestive of a page torn from a notebook, celebrating the freedom and happiness which comes from simply making marks as part of the creative process.
An edition of 300 (the number of weeks in twenty five years), each unique work is signed and numbered using a Palomino Blackwing 602 pencil, a personal favourite for many years.
It’s been great to finally make use of the Axidraw I bought back in 2016 which has mostly been gathering dust since that time. I’ve always wanted to do something coded and generative with this lovely piece of kit as the fusion of an algorithmic system with the analog nature of pen on paper has always appealed to me.
A meditation on our relationship with AI through a religious inspired triptych
Featured in the Augmented Intelligence exhibition at Christie’s in New York, Altarpiece: The Divinity is a new work drawing inspiration from a legendary game of Go, where AlphaGo, DeepMind's groundbreaking AI, defeated world champion Lee Sedol. The pivotal Divine Move – move 37 – marked a turning point in the match and was later remarked on that “maybe this shows us a new form of beauty?”
This physical work takes the form of a religious triptych, inspired by medieval church altarpieces. However the focus now is our ever-evolving relationship with AI, machines, algorithms and data, with the three panels representing the three core parts which make up a computer’s architecture, namely input, processing and output.
The work was on view and up for auction until the 5th March at Christie’s in New York and online and happy to say it found a buyer as the auction came to a close.
The show was of course not without its controversy, with an open letter from artists demanding Christie’s cancel the exhibition and the auction. What struck me having visited the show on the opening night was the breadth of art created using AI – or to give it its proper name – Machine Learning. There was a robot which drew an expanding artwork based on how much was bid in real-time; a bronze sculpture, screen based work, a woven tapestry, a print making machine and a lot more besides. Much of this was way beyond the lazy, obvious MidJourney level work which most people think of.
New open edition generative art print
In the same way musicians speak about the space between the notes, this Data needs Poetry mantra has been a guiding principle of mine in how I approach my work when using any form of data. Over the years I’ve always wanted to create an official print of that sentiment and so I’ve finally come up with two variations.
The two variants – Surrounding and Becoming – both employ a generative flocking algorithm, created in Processing, to create trails either to surround the text or become the text itself (my personal fave). For me that process talks about chance, play, randomness and the joy that can be had when all those elements are allowed to flourish within a discrete system.
The typeface is the wonderful Roslindale Display from David Jonathan Ross. I actually use DJR typefaces exclusively on my site, which has just had a typographic refresh.
Both prints are sized 297mm x 420mm / 11.7in x 16.5in (A3)
A few things I’ve bumped into…
Gardens exist on the threshold of artifice and nature, conscious decision and wild happenstance – Olivia Laing, The Garden Against Time
I thought this was a beautiful way to also describe generative art. Brian Eno often uses gardens as a metaphor to explain the generative art process.
This article argues that from film to fashion and architecture to advertising, creative fields have become dominated and defined by convention and cliché. Distinctiveness has died. In every field we look at, we find that everything looks the same. – Alex Murrell, The Age of Average
Wonderful read from Alex Murrell about how we now live in a world of averages.
The digital revolution was in full swing, and, as CalComp boldly stated in their 1969 advertising campaign, they were there to “teach your computer to draw” – Pablo Garcia, History of Drawing Machines
Great article by Pablo Garcia about the history of drawing machines.
Busting someone who takes 0.0000033% of your work for copyright infringement is like taking out a trespassing complaint against someone because the edge of their shoe touched a blade of grass on your lawn. – Cory Doctorow, AI “Art” and Uncanniness
Thought-provoking, deeply researched article on AI Art and copyright.
I’ll be returning to the wonderful Beyond Tellerrand conference in Germany in May. Always a great experience at this event run by Marc Thiele.
I’ll also be doing something in the UK in the same month but I’m not allowed to mention it just yet!
Thank you for letting me drop into your inbox. I’ll try and write more often. Promise.
Brendan.
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