The Muttenz series is an exploration of the intersection between mathematical precision and artistic expression. Driven by the desire to discover the extent to which a rigid system could be used as the foundation for captivating and aesthetic artworks, this journey delves into the realm of complex grid formulas and color palette algorithms, and how to break them.
I have always been attracted to simple shapes and minimalism, and as computers get more and more successful at imitating organic and analog mediums, I am even more interested in the bare-bones approach of examining basic building blocks of various systems, as in my previous series The Primitive Trilogy where I examined the basic primitives of 3D CGI systems. As my creative foundations are rooted in the modernist movement of the Bauhaus and The International Style, I love grids and in this series I turned to focus on them.
Grids are a fundamental element in design, architecture, and the visual arts. They are used as a structuring tool to create order, balance, and harmony in compositions. In the visual arts, grids serve as the underlying framework for a work, dictating the placement and proportion of elements within the composition and in digital art even more so - the pixels are an extension of the traditional grid system, and everything must be plotted along these grids.
At its core, Muttenz constructs precise grids and distributes simple graphic shapes along them - highlighted below are the actual grids for these specific variations where the grid is more evident in the final result:
Through a vast set of parameters, the algorithm generates images that range from organized to chaotic. Initially, the journey focused on grids, but soon evolved into a search for harmony, color, rhythm, and balance and emergence of traits that were not strictly planned for. The complexity and variance that the computer offers took this in a whole new direction - showcasing the beauty of random chance within a very strict system, displaying surprising and sometimes 'beautifully flawed' results.
A work about grids, that started to look nothing like grids... a surprising outcome of my dialogue with the machine