Fourier Transforms, Glitch Monsters, Digital Art Displays

Originally posted on Substack “Don’t worry if people think you’re crazy. You are crazy. You have that kind of intoxicating insanity that lets other people dream outside of the lines and become who they’re destined to be.” - Jennifer Elisabeth Hello friends! I hope you all have been having great weeks full of inspiration. I know that I am spotty right now with the newsletter. There are a number of things going on (two jobs mainly) which I hope will pass in the next couple of months....

July 24, 2021 · 7 min · 1285 words · Chris Ried

Alien Dreams, Generating MIDI, and Drawing with Oceans

Originally posted on Substack “To be an artist means never to avert one’s eyes.” - Akira Kurosawa Paying attention to detail is one of the hidden secrets of any artist. It provides them the ability the “see” and interpret their surroundings or emotions of any subject in ways the viewer has yet to understand. La Crau w/ Peach Trees - Van Gogh Take, for instance, the following painting by Van Gogh....

July 10, 2021 · 5 min · 979 words · Chris Ried

Conceptual Art, Fear, and Generative Synthesis

Originally posted on Substack I’ve been reading through the book “Art & Fear” by David Bayles and Ted Orland. I thought I might share a few passages that I highlighted. that are good nuggets about pursuing art and the insecurities that come with it. The function of the overwhelming majority of your artwork is simply to teach you how to make the small fraction of your artwork that soars. One of the basic and difficult lessons every artist must learn is that even the failed pieces are essential....

July 5, 2021 · 4 min · 749 words · Chris Ried

Bonsai Trees, Color History and Depth Estimation

Originally posted on Substack “The absence of limitations is the enemy of art.” - Orson Welles The discipline of trimming and waiting, the bonsai master takes the medium of the tree and molds it using wire as a way to encourage the shape of growth. Throughout the years he cuts, and prunes, sheers and replants and cuts some more. Once in a while he moves the tree to a new pot, sifting through the roots system looking for only the living and then places the bonsai back into position....

June 12, 2021 · 7 min · 1335 words · Chris Ried

What makes a good generative agent?

Originally posted on Substack “The Artist always has the masters in his eyes.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson What makes a good generative agent? It’s an interesting question, that I will scratch but the surface. However, I’ve gathered a list of general considerations from my observations of the generative arts. My intent is to discover and explore. Some of this comes from the pursuit of understanding… in an ironic way. For one, It is the pursuit which help build an eye for the different, and aesthetically pleasing....

May 29, 2021 · 8 min · 1652 words · Chris Ried

Cistercian Numerals, 3D Models, and Perfect Loops

Originally posted on Substack “The Artist always has the masters in his eyes.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson Good Evening Friends! I’ve been busy starting a new job and trying to replatform as a way to ensure that the newsletter is in a format that can be accessible and more automated for me. Right now I have been using Substack, however I am wanting to create great content, and automate as much as possible....

May 22, 2021 · 5 min · 975 words · Chris Ried

Futuristic Generative Art, Ferrofluids and Simulations

Originally posted on Substack “An artist’s concern is to capture beauty wherever he finds it.” - Kazuo Ishiguro What does generative art look like in the future? As much as I enjoy investigating the path that the discipline of generative art has taken in the past 60+ years; I also have been thinking about what the future may hold in this space. So what I am going throw out there has yet to be fully thought through....

May 1, 2021 · 8 min · 1557 words · Chris Ried

From Generative Systems to Generative Aesthetics

Originally posted on Substack “Any great art work … revives and readapts time and space, and the measure of its success is the extent to which it makes you an inhabitant of that world - the extent to which it invites you in and lets you breathe its strange, special air.” - Leonard Bernstein Generative Systems to Generative Aesthetics All of my life, art has been a piece of my existence....

April 24, 2021 · 8 min · 1550 words · Chris Ried

Random Machines, Creative Rust, Blurred Boundaries

Originally posted on Substack “I became an artist because I wanted to be an active participant in the conversation about art.” - Kamand Kojouri Alrighty, well I wanted to complete a piece on randomness called the “Ode to Randomness” as there is so much to be written and techniques in which randomness is so important to the work of generative artists. But I’ll get it out soon enough. Instead; here is an interesting usage of randomness....

April 24, 2021 · 7 min · 1374 words · Chris Ried

Generative Poetry, Archimedian Solids and Dextro

Originally posted on Substack “At the end of your creative adventure, you have a souvenir—something that you made, something to remind you forever of your brief but transformative encounter with inspiration” - Elizabeth Gilbert The last couple of weeks have been quite eventful. I’ve taken a new job and there has been much transitioning that has occurred to get everything completed. That being said, my work on aggregating / discovering the history of generative art has been progressing....

April 11, 2021 · 7 min · 1338 words · Chris Ried