Machine Art was one of the first exhibitions of the new department of Architecture + Design at MoMA. This was the first time that industrial objects were exhibited in an art museum. For the first time, objects that were made by machines, but designed by humans, were presented as art objects.

This included: common household objects, like furniture, pots, and pans, industrial equipment, like springs, insulators, and pistons, and scientific instruments like microscopes, and beakers.

Machine Art was one of the first exhibitions 
of the new department of Architecture + Design 
at MoMA

the first time that industrial objects 
were exhibited in an art museum

for the first time, 
objects that were made by machines, 
but designed by humans,
were presented as art objects.

this included:    
    common household objects 
        like furniture, pots, and pans, 
    industrial equipment 
        like springs, insulators, and pistons, 
    and scientific instruments 
        like microscopes, and beakers
    

As curator Philip Johnson noted: the exhibition was born from the idea that "art could still be made without the handcraft approach". Where "handicraft implies irregularity, picturesqueness, decorative value and uniqueness the machine - and modern design - implies precision, simplicity, smoothness, reproducibility"

This was a celebration of, and, indeed the defining of, a "functional aesthetic" inherent in manufactured objects.

As curator Philip Johnson noted:
    the exhibition was born from the idea 
    that "art could still be made without the handcraft approach"

where "handicraft implies 
    irregularity, picturesqueness, decorative value and uniqueness
the machine - and modern design - implies 
    precision, simplicity, smoothness, reproducibility"

a celebration of,
and, indeed the defining of,
a "functional aesthetic" 
    inherent in manufactured objects.
    
what can we learn from this as we prepare for our next guest lecture?

With this understanding of "machine art" in mind, I offer the following analogy to frame this week's lecture:

With this understanding of "machine art" in mind,
I offer the following analogy to frame this week's lecture:

[click]

As 
    the MoMA Machine Art exhibit
    is to
    consumer objects and experiences produced by industrial machines
so too 
    the artistic work of Refik Anadol and others
    is to
    consumer objects and experiences produced by post-industrial machines
    
what is a post-industrial machine?
    i'm speaking specifically of machines consisting of 
    software and data

The presence of industrial objects in an exhibit was a provocation, and a demonstration of a new "aesthetic of functionality" that spoke to larger trends in the culture at the time.

In much the same way, there was a time quite recently when it would be shocking to come across an object produced by software or data in an art context.

In 1934, it was shocking 
to come across an industrially-produced object, 
    such as a mixing bowl or a propeller, 
in an art context. 

The presence of such objects in an exhibit was a provocation, 
    and a demonstration of a new "aesthetic of functionality" 
    that spoke to larger trends in the culture at the time. 

In much the same way, 
there was a time quite recently 
when it would be shocking to come across 
an object produced by software or data 
in an art context.

Curator Philip Galanter defines generative art as "any art practice in which the artist uses a system, such as a set of natural-language rules, biological processes, mathematical operations, a computer program, a machine, or other procedural invention, that is set into motion with some degree of autonomy, thereby contributing to or resulting in a completed work of art."

To be more specific, I would argue that we see Anadol's work 
as a contemporary example of "generative art"

Curator Philip Galanter defines generative art as 
    any art practice in which the artist uses a system, 
        such as a set of natural-language rules, 
        biological processes, 
        mathematical operations, 
        a computer program, 
        a machine, 
        or other procedural invention, 
    that is set into motion with some degree of autonomy, 
    thereby contributing to or resulting in 
    a completed work of art.

To put that more succinctly, 
we might turn to the artist Sol LeWitt,
who, writing about conceptual art in 1967, stated:
    

By this definition, we can see that generative art pre-dates computers. In fact, the conceptual art of the mid-twentieth century, provides an important link between the work shown in the "Machine Art" exhibit and the generative artists, such as Anadol, who are working with software and data today.

    "when an artist uses a conceptual form of art, 
    it means that all of the planning and decisions 
    are made beforehand 
    and the execution is a perfunctory affair. 
    
[click]
    
    The idea becomes a machine that makes the art."
    

by this definition, we can see that 
generative art pre-dates computers.

in fact, 
the conceptual art of the mid-twentieth century,
provides an important link 
between the work shown in the "Machine Art" exhibit
and the generative artists, 
    such as Anadol, 
who are working with software and data today.
    
-------

Sol LeWitt, "Paragraphs on Conceptual Art," Artforum 5, no. 10 (June 1967), pp. 79-83

The work of Josef Albers, shown here on the left, focuses on the human perception of combinations of colors.

This work directly prefigures the work of Joel Simon in the late 1990s, when interactive computer-based art was in its infancy.

To get warmed up,
I'll start with a simple example.

The work of Josef Albers, 
    shown here on the left, 
focuses on the human perception 
of combinations of colors. 

This work directly prefigures 
the work of Joel Simon in the late 1990s, 
when interactive computer-based art 
was in its infancy.

Next, is the work of Joan Truckenbrod, who pioneered a practice in the 1970s that we would now call "algorithmic drawing". Truckenbrod was perhaps the first to implement algorithms meant to represent natural phenomena in the service of visual art.

This practice is very much alive today, and has since been extended by practitioners such as Jessica Rosenkrantz, who authored the image on the right, Jenny Sabin, and others.

Next, I'll talk about the work of Joan Truckenbrod,
who pioneered a practice in the 1970s 
that we would now call "algorithmic drawing".

Truckenbrod was perhaps the first to implement
algorithms meant to represent natural phenomena
in the service of visual art.

This practice is very much alive today,
and has since been extended by practitioners 
    such as Jessica Rosenkrantz, 
        who authored the image on the right,
    Jenny Sabin,
    and others.

Finally we present the work of a giant of conceptual art, Sol Le Witt, alongside one of the pioneers of generative art, Casey Reas.

I'll save my most ambitious story for last.

Here I'll present the work of a giant of conceptual art,
    Sol Le Witt,
Alongside one of the pioneers of generative art, 
    Casey Reas
    

The Nazis shutdown of the Bauhaus school in 1933 prompted a mass exodus of its staff to other countries, and America gained one of its foremost instructors, Josef Albers. After his emigration, the modernist artist and designer had a profound influence on the theory and practice of art and design most notably through his influential book "Interaction of Color".

The Nazis shutdown of the Bauhaus school in 1933
prompted a mass exodus of its staff to other countries, 
and America gained one of its foremost instructors, 
Josef Albers. 

After his emigration, the modernist artist and designer 
had a profound influence 
on the theory and practice of art and design
most notably through his influential book 
"Interaction of Color"

Albers was particularly interested in combinatorics: the sequencing and ordering of simple collections of units. He was also interested in color theory and investigating the perceptual changes in hue caused by placing different colors next to each other.

Albers was particularly interested 
in combinatorics: 
    the sequencing and ordering 
    of simple collections of units

He was also interested in color theory 
and investigating the perceptual changes in hue 
caused by placing different colors next to each other.

In this work, Albers sought to demonstrate that our perception of color is contextual.

In this work, Albers sought to demonstrate that our perception of color is contextual.

The most well-known application of his theory of color was his "Homage to the Square" series, which was started in the summer of 1949.

The most well-known application 
of his theory of color 
was his "Homage to the Square" series, 
which was started in the summer of 1949

Albers continued working on this series over the next twenty-five years, and made more than a thousand related works over that time.

Albers continued working on this series over the next twenty-five years.
He made more than a thousand related works over that time.

    
He developed four layouts, 
three composed of three squares each 
and the fourth composed of four squares. 

to explain his selection 
of a very simple geometric composition,
he said: 
    "The scheme of the Homages 
    has no real aesthetic consequences by itself," 
    "There were hundreds of possibilities, 
    but since my main problem is color ... 
    let's have a scheme"

Like a composer writing variations on a single melodic theme, Albers created countless color combinations in which the effect of individual colors changes markedly from work to work, demonstrating the variability of our perception of color.

Like a composer 
writing variations on a single melodic theme, 
Albers created countless color combinations 
in which the effect of individual colors 
changes markedly from work to work, 
demonstrating the variability 
of our perception of color.

Observing that Albers' work is combinatorial by its nature, roughly thirty years later, "net" artist Joel Simon sought to extend this way of thinking to its logical result.

Observing that Albers' work 
is combinatorial by its nature, 
roughly thirty years later, 
"net" artist Joel Simon 
sought to extend this way of thinking 
to its logical result.

According to Joel, CPU, 
    or Color Processing Unit, 
is a study of emergent behavior and viewer perception. 

Here, a rule set generates combinations of colors. 

Although the software uses the same rules, 
the viewer interprets some of these combinations 
as 'patterns' and others as 'noise'. 

In this way it comments on 
the infinite potential of visual space 
    how many images are possible 
    and how many are considered as such.

Similarly, Color Panel v 1.0 is a time based color study. 

Influenced by the Bauhaus movement, 
Color Panel interprets color 'rules' into software. 

The software iterates through color possibilities 
explored in theories proposed by Bauhaus artists

The activation of these studies 
results in a dynamic composition 
of changing color pallets that never repeat.

Finally, 
we have this 1996 piece titled "Every Icon".
which is presented as an early online installation, 
a Palm Pilot application, 
a wall projection, 
and a self-contained wall hanging object. 

The piece consists of a 32 x 32 square grid 
where every square can be colored black or white. 

The piece starts with an all-white image 
and progresses through combinations of black and white squares 
until every square is black. 

By this process, the piece will show every possible image. 

Even in this limited visual space,
there are more images than the human mind can experience 
in many lifetimes.

Truckenbrod started making her computer drawings in the 1970s, using the programming language Fortran.

Truckenbrod started making her computer drawings 
in the 1970s, 
using the programming language Fortran. 

She explains: "I saw that algorithms could be reconfigured, they were not a hard set of instructions but fluid, allowing me to transform ideas into new forms. There was a spontaneity that was related to this process, that then related back into the series of works."

She explains, 
"I saw that algorithms could be reconfigured, 
they were not a hard set of instructions but fluid, 
allowing me to transform ideas into new forms. 
There was a spontaneity that was related to this process, 
that then related back into the series of works." 

Truckenbrod would frequently incorporate algorithms that described natural phenomena, such as light or sound waves, and give them physical substance through her projects.

    
Truckenbrod would frequently incorporate 
algorithms that described natural phenomena, 
such as light or sound waves, 
and give them physical substance 
through her projects. 

Many artists working today may be seen as following after this early work in algorithmic drawing. This is evidenced by the recent exhibition organized at CCA, titled "Drawing Codes".

    
Any number of artists 
may be seen as following after this early work 
in algorithmic drawing.

This is evidenced by the recent exhibition organized at CCA,
titled "Drawing Codes".

Fifty years after Truckenbrod, 
interest is still apparently strong to
    "explore the impact of emerging technologies 
    on the relationship between code and drawing: 
    how rules and constraints 
    inform the ways architects 
        document, 
        analyze, 
        represent, 
        and design the built environment. 

To take just one example from this exhibit,
    (one that some of you 
    may have read about in section this week)
consider this piece by Madeline Gannon,
in which we find echos of Truckenbrod's stated interest
in patterns drawn from nature.

Here, one of the classic examples 
of mathematical emergence 
is given form.

according to Gannon, the static drawing on the left depicts
    "Thousands of agents race[ing] towards each other 
    only to be pushed apart by their internal desire 
    for equilibrium. 
    The lines you see here illustrate 
    these primal, spatial motives at play."

Although this abstract model of consciousness 
has been computationally understood for over 30 years, 
we are only just beginning 
to embody intelligent, autonomous machines 
with these spatial behaviors. 

Finally, 
any discussion of algorithmic depictions of growth 
would not be complete without mentioning 
the work of the design firm "Nervous System".

Recalling Truckenbrod's work,
this collaboration between 
architect / computer scientist Jessica Rosenkrantz 
and biologist Jesse Louis-Rosenburg
uses computational models of biological growth
to design functional objects inspired by natural forms.

To make the patchwork textile we see here, Joan Truckenbrod again implemented algorithms depicting natural phenomena.

I'll return briefly to Truckenbrod herself,
to pick back up on a thread of work 
that built upon her algorithmic drawing series.

To make the patchwork textile we see here, 
Joan Truckenbrod again implemented algorithms 
depicting natural phenomena 
    (this time in the programming language BASIC) 
to create a series of abstract sequential images
printed on heat-transfer material.

After superimposing a pattern,
and reconfiguring the image components, 
she hand-irons them onto polyester fiber 
to create the sort of compositions we see here. 

Truckenbrod's digital fabrics connect early computational art with the feminist textile art practice of the 1970s that challenged the relegation of techniques such as quilting, sewing, and weaving to the realm of "women's crafts."

The textile work is shown suspended 
so that its display becomes fluid--affected 
by light and air movement
and part of the "natural" world. 

Truckenbrod's digital fabrics 
connect early computational art 
with the feminist textile art practice of the 1970s 
that challenged the relegation of techniques 
    such as quilting, sewing, and weaving 
to the realm of "women's crafts."

Truckenbrod's fabric work is contemporary,
but we can find those inspired by it,
and who seek to extend it,
in the contemporary design world as well.

The Fourier Carpet Series,
    by architect Jenny Sabin,
is a line of algorithmically-generated rugs.

Encapsulating the idea that "the idea or concept is the most important aspect of the work," Sol LeWitt's wall drawings are actually sets of instructions that others execute when the work is to be exhibited.

Encapsulating the idea that 
    "the idea or concept 
    is the most important aspect 
    of the work," 
Sol LeWitt's wall drawings 
are actually sets of instructions 
that others execute 
when the work is to be exhibited. 

For example, the instructions here read:
    
    Proposal for Wall Drawing, Information Show
    
    Within four adjacent squares,
    each 4' by 4',
    four draftsmen will be employed
    at $4.00/hour
    for four hours a day
    and for four days to draw straight lines
    4 inches long
    using four different colored pencils;
    9H black, red, yellow, and blue.
    Each draftsmen will use the same color throughout
    the four day period,
    working on a different square each day.
    

The exact angle and length of the lines in any piece may be, to some extent, determined by those who draw them, and the work may be adapted to fit a variety of architectural contexts.

The exact angle and length of the lines in any piece
may be, to some extent,
determined by those who draw them, 
and the work may be adapted to fit 
a variety of architectural contexts.

for example, called for here is simply
    twenty-four lines from the center, 
    twelve from the midpoint of each of the sides, 
    and twelve from each corner

Consequently, any given wall drawing is scalable and can differ significantly with each realization. The instructions for the piece we see here are incredibly site-specific, and open to interpretation. They simply read: "All architectural points connected by straight lines."

    
Consequently, any given wall drawing is scalable 
and can differ significantly with each realization. 

The instructions for the piece we see here 
are incredibly site-specific, and open to interpretation

They simply read:
    "All architectural points 
    connected by straight lines."

Although these instructions are executed by humans rather than a computer, its language-based instructions function as a program would in a digital work of art.

Although these instructions 
are executed by humans 
rather than a computer, 
its language-based instructions 
function as a program would 
in a digital work of art.

In 2004, just as in our previous stories the artist Casey Reas built upon LeWitt's work, extending it to its logical end, and adapting it to a new computational media. His re-interpretation of LeWitt begins with a literal adaptation. Here, for example, we see LeWitt's Wall Drawing 106 interpreted by software.

In 2004,
    just as in our previous stories
the artist Casey Reas built upon LeWitt's work,
extending it to its logical end,
and adapting it to a new computational media.

His re-interpretation of LeWitt
begins with a literal adaptation.

Here, for example, 
we see LeWitt's Wall Drawing 106
interpreted by software.

On the left, a static image,
and on the right,
the logical extension of LeWitt's idea
expressed as an interactive media,
in which the agency afforded to LeWitt's draftsmen
is now extended to the viewer of the work.

Casey writes: "The catalyst for this project is the work of Sol LeWitt. I had a simple question: "Is the history of conceptual art relevant to the idea of software as art?". "I began to answer the question by implementing three of LeWitt's drawings in software."

    
In his writing about this series, 
Casey writes:
    The catalyst for this project 
    is the work of Sol LeWitt. 
    I had a simple question: 
        "Is the history of conceptual art 
        relevant to the idea of software as art?" 
    
    "I began to answer the question 
    by implementing three of LeWitt's drawings 
    in software."
    [Implementations with permission of Sol LeWitt.]

Here we see wall drawing #85 
in pencil on the right and in software on the left.

The instructions for this wall drawing read:

    "A wall is divided into four horizontal parts. 
    In the top row are four equal divisions, 
    each with lines in a different direction. 
    In the second row, six double combinations; 
    in the third row, four triple combinations; 
    in the bottom row, 
    all four combinations superimposed."

Casey Reas futher expands Sol LeWitt's concept that the idea is "a machine that makes art" by demonstrating that it is always true for works of software art.

Casey Reas futher expands 
Sol LeWitt's concept 
that the idea is "a machine that makes art" 
by demonstrating that 
it is always true for works of software art. 

Reas generates and executes the drawing 
through programming, 
but, 
    as with LeWitt's early wall drawings, 
starts with a description 
in natural language: 

    A surface filled with one hundred 
    medium to small circles. 
    
    Each circle has a different size and direction, 
    but moves at the same slow rate. 
    
    Display: 
        A. The instantaneous intersections of the circles 
        B. The aggregate intersections of the circles

In Structure #003A, 
the points moving on the screen 
are the center of each circle, 
while the lines connect 
the intersections of overlapping circles. 

Structure #003B 
gives viewers a different view of the structure 
by compressing changes over time 
into the same visual space; 
it is created using a process similar to 
taking a long-exposure photograph of Structure #003A 
and is continually changing, erasing, and redrawing 
while never repeating.