Architecture of painting

generative art Computational Design algorithmic design pasting processing parametric design painting digital fabrication creative coding

Exhibition view, 2016 in Tokyo

Architecture of Painting

How can I construct “painting”? In this work I try to deal with this problem by using generative art method. For example, let us consider oil paintings. Oil painting works are made by painting colors on canvas by an artist’s hands, then it is regarded as a “human-oriented” expression. Paintings have a value in uniqueness of such human creation. On the opposite side, digital fabrication is often regarded as a replicable “machine-oriented” expression, and then it seems to be not compatible with “painting”. I try to break this human-machine dichotomy and would like to extend usual “painting” expression.
The process of making artworks consists of three steps: modelling, cutting, and pasting. First, I code a drawing program for generating shapes. These shapes are variable by parametric functions and it gives us millions of possible shapes. I study shapes and colors, and choose better one. Generated geometric data are decomposed into layers by colors. From each layer data, a plotter cuts sheets of colored marking films and I paste them layer-by-layer on support materials. Like an oil painting, texture of their surfaces are non-flat and stacked with color layers.
In this series of artworks, I have been inspired by biological shapes and patterns. Recent development of mathematical science has clarified that shapes and patterns of some animals or plants can be simulated by algorithms, e.g. cellular automaton. I introduce these ideas into my drawing program and try to express such natural beauty.