Randomness and Generative Art

Art in general can be thought of as a stochastic process. No two drawings or paintings are exactly alike, and cannot be as long as humans are involved. Generative art, the defining of an artwork using an algorithm, can result in very precise duplications of artworks but this is rarely interesting. Art is a human activity and artworks are a means of communication between humans, even in the generative domain. Adding randomness to a generative work makes it seem more human, and often more interesting. How much randomness should there be? What is the context of the random features? Why is randomness interesting? These things will be discussed, along with some ideas on how to use randomness as a tool in creating artworks.

Author(s): James Parker

Abstract | PDF

Share This Article