I’m really enjoying these articles Duane but this one has really given me pause for thought. I’m so tech-avoidant these days (probably the result of being chained to a screen and desk for 30+ years!) but Sacha’s work sounds so fantastic. The fact that the image is gone after 20 seconds is what stopped me; I love the beauty in transience, like a cloud passing - blink and it’s different - or a wave breaking then pulled back into the sea to form again. All these things that we miss when we aren’t looking. Thanks for sharing this, I’ll be chewing it over all day I think 😁
Hey Trish, love how you describe it, thanks a lot!
What's funny is: I've added the 20 second refresh after everything else was finished and now that's the thing people are mentioning the most. And I've had some moments where this website produced some really interesting stuff and before I could even appreciate it, it was gone.
Now I am thinking about an exhibition with 20 beamers. Gonna call it “Evanescence” :D
Love that idea Sascha! Please pursue it! BTW, i was doing a little research into generative art and came across this video. Not sure if it’s an artist you’re already familiar with. But there’s some ideas in his approach that I found fascinating that I thought you’d appreciate. I especially love that he incorporates analog elements into the algorithmic process. If you ever want to try something like that I’d love to be a part of it!!
Thanks! Super interesting, never heard of that guy. Of course, what he does is on a whole other level. I actually don't know that much about generative art (except following Joshua Davis and Brandon Dawes for many years), but that was also the whole point of Artifactor: It's the most simple thing you could do technically; it just requires super basic php and css knowledge.
It’s all over my head, I understand less than none of it, hahaha! But what I love most is the dance with randomness. I wish there was a way I could figure out ways to incorporate that into my work.
Thank you! So glad you’re enjoying them! I keep the majority of my creative process as analog as possible. it may also having something to with the fact that I’ve spent most of my working life (and my current working life) chained to a desk as well. There just something special about the touch, texture, and sound of paper. but, what Sascha does is mind blowing in so many ways. And part of me almost wishes I had the skill set to do it too…almost, lol.
It’s mind-blowing isn’t it?!! I love the idea of randomness within generative art. And I even love the implicit ephemerality here, the fact that it’s temporary, that it exists only for a small window of time and, unless you get a screen shot, it never will again.
It’s so much fun to play with and Sascha is such a great person. When I told him I was working on this, he gave me access to a hi-res version of the site so I could get better quality images. He even changed the refresh rate so I would have longer to collect the images. Definitely looking forward to working with this more.
Thanks for your kind words on “a dark wave breaking”, that was another fun experiment. It was an image I photocopied from a magazine at the library and cut into varying strips. The idea was to assemble something in an almost grid like way but to have the aspects of the strips defy the grid. For once, it seems to have actually worked out, lol.
It is and I had to really go look into Sascha's work now, excited to learn more. I'm amazed that I'm still stumbling on work that I get to explore like this (thank you Substack!) and hope that never ends! You're both new to me, so fun to do.
I remember doing an interview with Max-o-matic a while back where he talked about The Engine that creates collage using generative art but I'm struggling to remember all of the details, I'll have to dig it up and revisit.
Love your style Duane and look forward to reading/seeing more!
I thought it might be fun to experience a lesson in evanescence 😁 ... but what's really weird is that I build this little tool just for fun and now people – like the amazing Duane Toops – are using it and unless they take a screenshot even I will never see what they saw. Not to mention all the Unsplash photographers who will very likely never know that their work made it into artworks by other artists ...
There's something so poetic and insightful about the fleeting nature of the structure. It's an apt metaphor for life, for Being, perhaps even for existence as a whole. A collection of unrepeatable instances that fade almost as soon as they start to flicker. Capturing them and using them, becomes an exercise in memory, in recalling, in reminiscing. Remembering is always an act of creativity, it's always a kind of transformation, something that changes with time and experience and perspective, and eventually it changes us too. i didn't even realize how rich this experiment would be until I started. Thanks again for giving me so much to work with!
I’m really enjoying these articles Duane but this one has really given me pause for thought. I’m so tech-avoidant these days (probably the result of being chained to a screen and desk for 30+ years!) but Sacha’s work sounds so fantastic. The fact that the image is gone after 20 seconds is what stopped me; I love the beauty in transience, like a cloud passing - blink and it’s different - or a wave breaking then pulled back into the sea to form again. All these things that we miss when we aren’t looking. Thanks for sharing this, I’ll be chewing it over all day I think 😁
Hey Trish, love how you describe it, thanks a lot!
What's funny is: I've added the 20 second refresh after everything else was finished and now that's the thing people are mentioning the most. And I've had some moments where this website produced some really interesting stuff and before I could even appreciate it, it was gone.
Now I am thinking about an exhibition with 20 beamers. Gonna call it “Evanescence” :D
Love that idea Sascha! Please pursue it! BTW, i was doing a little research into generative art and came across this video. Not sure if it’s an artist you’re already familiar with. But there’s some ideas in his approach that I found fascinating that I thought you’d appreciate. I especially love that he incorporates analog elements into the algorithmic process. If you ever want to try something like that I’d love to be a part of it!!
https://youtu.be/8tTGJvijoDw?si=kUpM0ZmsfrpG4VgF
Thanks! Super interesting, never heard of that guy. Of course, what he does is on a whole other level. I actually don't know that much about generative art (except following Joshua Davis and Brandon Dawes for many years), but that was also the whole point of Artifactor: It's the most simple thing you could do technically; it just requires super basic php and css knowledge.
It’s all over my head, I understand less than none of it, hahaha! But what I love most is the dance with randomness. I wish there was a way I could figure out ways to incorporate that into my work.
Thank you! So glad you’re enjoying them! I keep the majority of my creative process as analog as possible. it may also having something to with the fact that I’ve spent most of my working life (and my current working life) chained to a desk as well. There just something special about the touch, texture, and sound of paper. but, what Sascha does is mind blowing in so many ways. And part of me almost wishes I had the skill set to do it too…almost, lol.
'To care more about the 'how' of the making, rather than the 'what' of the made.' ⚡
Much appreciated! Glad that stuck out to you! I think that’s the catalyst for everything with me.
This is new to me and I'm going to learn more about it! And "a dark wave breaking" -- stunning, stunning work!
It’s mind-blowing isn’t it?!! I love the idea of randomness within generative art. And I even love the implicit ephemerality here, the fact that it’s temporary, that it exists only for a small window of time and, unless you get a screen shot, it never will again.
It’s so much fun to play with and Sascha is such a great person. When I told him I was working on this, he gave me access to a hi-res version of the site so I could get better quality images. He even changed the refresh rate so I would have longer to collect the images. Definitely looking forward to working with this more.
Thanks for your kind words on “a dark wave breaking”, that was another fun experiment. It was an image I photocopied from a magazine at the library and cut into varying strips. The idea was to assemble something in an almost grid like way but to have the aspects of the strips defy the grid. For once, it seems to have actually worked out, lol.
Thanks again!
It is and I had to really go look into Sascha's work now, excited to learn more. I'm amazed that I'm still stumbling on work that I get to explore like this (thank you Substack!) and hope that never ends! You're both new to me, so fun to do.
I remember doing an interview with Max-o-matic a while back where he talked about The Engine that creates collage using generative art but I'm struggling to remember all of the details, I'll have to dig it up and revisit.
Love your style Duane and look forward to reading/seeing more!
Hey Elyse’, thank you, really appreciate it! I've never used Substack before and now it looks like I have a deep rabbit hole ahead of me 😁
So great to see you here! You won’t believe how deep this one goes! haha!
You won't be disappointed by anything you find Sascha doing, that's for sure! Discovery is the absolute best part of anything!
The collage engine sounds amazing! If you manage to find it, please let me know! I'd love to check that out!
Thanks again Elyse', I really appreciate it!
Every twenty seconds! Half the days I can't even find my scissors or glue in that time. 🤣
I know, right?! It’s crazy. I had to be quick to take screenshots!
I thought it might be fun to experience a lesson in evanescence 😁 ... but what's really weird is that I build this little tool just for fun and now people – like the amazing Duane Toops – are using it and unless they take a screenshot even I will never see what they saw. Not to mention all the Unsplash photographers who will very likely never know that their work made it into artworks by other artists ...
There's something so poetic and insightful about the fleeting nature of the structure. It's an apt metaphor for life, for Being, perhaps even for existence as a whole. A collection of unrepeatable instances that fade almost as soon as they start to flicker. Capturing them and using them, becomes an exercise in memory, in recalling, in reminiscing. Remembering is always an act of creativity, it's always a kind of transformation, something that changes with time and experience and perspective, and eventually it changes us too. i didn't even realize how rich this experiment would be until I started. Thanks again for giving me so much to work with!