My Generative Art Journey
Even though this year has been tough & restrictive, physically & mentally, I’ve learned a lot through the adversities & challenges. One of this year’s perks has been that I’ve once again got a chance to indulge myself in my long lost hobbies like yoga, creating art, cooking, reading, etc. Since the time I’ve commenced my college journey & indulged myself in the realm of computing & programming, I haven’t been able to get enough time to express my feeling & emotions through traditional art forms. Spilling & smearing paint in order to create something visually soothing, whether it is abstract or naturalistic, has always helped me vent out my feelings & emotions.
I’ve always been fascinated with visually appealing art, whether it is physical or digital. This is the reason why I’ve been engaged in further exploring my interests, & one such interest has been Generative Art.
Generative Art is a form of art created through the use of autonomous systems, such as algorithms, genetic sequences, machines. Different implementations of these “generative” processes yield a range of results, the aesthetic of the art depends on randomness and chance, which makes every composition unique.
In 2019, I read this interesting article about Generative Art by Jason Bailey, which got me motivated about learning this and exploring it further. Generative art & music have been something I’ve had an eye on for a long time but didn’t get time to engage in, but this year, the so-called “hellacious” year, bought a little light in my life by enabling me to experiment with Generative Art, & further exploring my programming capabilities.
For creating intricate art, I’ve been continuously iterating over the languages & algorithms I’ve used in the past. To date, I’ve used languages like Python (Turtle, Matplotlib, & Numpy), JavaScript (p5.js, particle.js, three.js), Java, & RStudio (Ambient) to create the art. Also, because I’ve always been a visual learner & analyzer, creating algorithmic art & modeling chaotic systems helps me understand the ongoings of a program, as well as the basis of the chaos theory*. Furthermore, I’ve been trying to appreciate & digitize the aesthetic artwork of two of my favorite abstract artists, Wassily Kandinsky & Piet Mondrian.
Moreover, I was inspired by the Bauhaus movement* and Kandinsky’s “Circles in a Circle” to create a generative art piece that blends geometry, color, and code. Kandinsky’s use of overlapping circles and vibrant compositions fascinated me, and I wanted to translate that visual language into something dynamic and evolving. Using coding, I developed algorithms that generate patterns based on his iconic style, allowing the artwork to continuously transform while maintaining a sense of harmony and rhythm. This project was a way for me to merge my passion for design and technology, echoing Bauhaus principles of combining art and functionality.
Recently, I’ve also been involved in creating interactive generative art using JavaScript, which would help the audience engage with the design & understand the complexity of the generative art & art in general.
I’m sharing some samples of my artworks on here & hope to create more in the coming future. My interactive work can be found at my Generative Art gallery on Github.
*Chaos theory explores how tiny changes in a system’s starting conditions can lead to wildly different outcomes, making certain things seem unpredictable, like weather patterns or stock markets. Even in all the apparent randomness, there’s often an underlying order that emerges, revealing patterns and connections that weren’t obvious at first glance.
*The Bauhaus movement was all about breaking boundaries between art, craft, and technology. Emerging in Germany in the early 20th century, it emphasized clean, functional design that was simple yet beautiful. Instead of separating fine arts from practical design, Bauhaus aimed to blend them, creating everything from buildings to furniture that was both aesthetic and practical. It was all about minimalism, geometry, and a focus on how form could serve function.
