Thursday, August 30, 2007

Self-Shifting Digital Paintings



Artist San Base, who was born in Russia and lives in Canada, has combined his training in fine arts and computer engineering to meld painting with algorithms.

He devised his "Dynamic Painting" concept when art supplies became too expensive following the economic collapse of the former Soviet Union in the 1990s.



When he didn't have fresh canvases to use, Base painted over his used canvases. Liking the effect that created, he began intentionally transforming the same picture over and over.

It occurred to him that a computer or TV screen would be a better "canvas" for bringing his pictures to life, so he wrote a software program to automate the image generation and transformation.



Base creates images by selecting basic components, like colors and shapes, and then mapping out how he wants them to morph over time. He has written a software program that digitally "paints" the images he designs.

To him, the algorithms that create the paintings are like DNA, guiding how the art will develop.

Words and Images [VIA]