Generative Art has probably been around for tens of thousands of years in one form or another. The agent of chance, or randomness, is employed in altering the arrangement of various materials, resulting in new 'compositions'. Long ago the result might have been used to interpret the moods of gods or the secrets of nature, with sticks, bones or entrails enlisted as raw materials.

Our techniques for predicting nature are a little more sophisticated now, but the fascination with chance and its glimpse into the forces of chaos remains. Given new status by the Dadaists at the beginning of the 20th century, the idea was carried forward until I bumped into it at the Tate Modern. And I got to thinking...

My Generative Art consist of photographs and drawings that have been manipulated by an agent of chance and randomness. More specifically, I returned from the exhibition at thee Tate and proceeded to write a script that that would run on my computer. I was interested to see how much variation and diversity I could achieve from a fairly limited set of images, and whether the results would have any discreet value or would simply demonstrate their position in some iterative sequence.

I was surprised at the results. And thousands of viewings later, I am still amazed at how the script manages to produce so many different compositions, many of them reminiscent of landscapes or studies that could have been designed intentionally. As each composition is created, it lasts for a few seconds on my monitor screen, then is lost forever - completely unrecoverable.

Unless it is captured - printed - before being recycled out of existence.

Ordering

Signed A4 prints of a Generative composition may be ordered from me. These prints are truly 'limited edition' - there is no ‘file’ from which more of the same can be produced. They are literally  limited to an edition of 1…. If you are not happy with the image you may return it for a full refund or a replacement image.

Please email shannon@ribbonsart.co.uk for details.