aahdee – Reading02

Question 1A

Nervous System’s Puzzle System is a good example of effective complexity. The artists of Nervous System developed software that creates puzzles based on the process of dendritic solidification. While the process that inspired it is based on the crystal growth of super cooled metal alloys, the software creates the puzzles by creating a lattice of geometric shapes and then letting the borders “bleed” into each other. No two puzzles are alike. This selection seems to lean a bit towards total order since the process that inspires it is a formation of crystals, which can be an orderly process.

Generative jigsaw puzzles from Nervous System on Vimeo.

Question 1B – The Problem of Meaning

Complex generative art that is simple and has a focus on showing what the generative process can do is, in my opinion, a strong enough meaning. The beauty of the work lies within the software: how it was built, how it interacts with itself, and the product that it creates. That being said, generative art does have the potential to be more than generative art, but I don’t think that it should. Art doesn’t have to make a comment or a statement. It can simply be the appreciation of system and processes that creates the art.