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SPEAK TO ME
INTRODUCTION
Is there a life force within art? Can we converse with creative energy? Artists throughout history have posed such questions. The Surrealists sought to harness the creativity of the unconscious mind. Hilma af Klint insisted her works should be seen as messages from her spirit guides. I make no such claims, however I am a believer that there’s more to this universe than we have the capability of currently understanding, and that through manifesting creativity we can connect with others as well as the unknown.
When I start the process of creating a new generative artwork, I often focus on discovering what’s new that I might unearth within the exploration of a simple algorithm. Within that journey, I have a hidden agenda. I hope to commune with the voices hiding inside the code.
Throughout my artistic practice, I’ve come to realize that intuition is more effective than predetermined thought when creating original visual works. Vera Molnar’s words often come to mind: “There is this thing that can replace intuition. It’s randomness.” In my exploration of generative randomness, I’ve discovered a reliable ally in this quest. During the creative process, I rely on visceral reactions to gauge if and when I’m headed in the right direction. By letting the algorithm explore all possibilities at once, I can say yes to a multitude of directions without having to steer it down a predetermined path. When the visual outputs start to move me, I love the idea that perhaps I’ve discovered some sort of personality hidden within the confines of the code, waiting for the most unlikely parameter to unlock its emergent beauty.
RANDOMNESS + INTUITION
INSPIRATION, DEPARTURES + CONTINUATIONS
Construction Alexandra Exter, 1922
Space Force Construction
Liubov Popova, 1921
In Speak To Me, I’m experimenting with layering and interrupting repetitions of basic geometric shapes, exploring their interplay and movement when placed in relation to one another. Drawing loose inspiration from historic art movements such as Suprematism and Constructivism, I’m seeking to investigate the potential of these simple forms to create dynamic and complex visual arrangements. The code generates compositions that are both structured and organic, imparting a movement and energy to the shapes, so they seem to grow and flow like living organisms. Some shapes speak boldly, with clear, directional vision. Some embrace the space between. Within this collection, the differences in those voices are celebrated with intention.
Speak To Me expands upon visual concepts I’ve explored in some of my earlier generative projects, including layering to convey depth and develop structure in Ask Me About The Dimensional Shift, the interplay between emptiness and form in Svrfaced and implied movement through directional form in Soft Waking. Speak To Me builds on these concepts, introduces the idea of texture as a compositional tool, and examines the relationship between the ordered and the chaotic. While these collections, on the surface, appear visually very different, they all play a part in my continuing artistic inquiry into the nature of form and its relationship to intuition.
Ask Me About The Dimensional Shift No. 16
Svrfaced II
Soft Waking No. 7
ON BREAKING NEW GROUND WITH NON GOAL-BASED ART
APPROACH / PHILOSOPHY / CONCEPTUAL GOALS
picture of your scrawled words
SIGNED PRINTS FOR MINT HOLDERS AND OUT OF BOUNDS EDITIONS
Speak To Me expands upon visual concepts I’ve explored in some of my earlier generative projects, including layering to convey depth and develop structure in Ask Me About The Dimensional Shift, the interplay between emptiness and form in Svrfaced and implied movement through directional form in Soft Waking. Speak To Me builds on these concepts, introduces the idea of texture as a compositional tool, and examines the relationship between the ordered and the chaotic. While these collections, on the surface, appear visually very different, they all play a part in my continuing artistic inquiry into the nature of form and its relationship to intuition.
FEATURES: / prints, breaking new ground, etc
I have conflicting views regarding "Features" that contribute to rarity attributes in the realm of generative art. With Speak To Me I've made an intentional decision to include Palettes as the only features that decide rarity in the project. I have to me to the conclusion for myself personally, that I would prefer to have any "rarity" attributed to this project be on the basis of viewer aesthetic alone. To that end I have decided to include "Palettes" as the only feature of the project. My wish is that any rarity assigned to individal iterations be on the merit of viewer aestetic alone.
THE PALETTES: ORIGINS & INSPIRATIONS
Full Classic | Stitch Classic | Loom | AM/PM | Raw Selvedge | Reds | 707
The palette I now call Stitch Classic made it's debut with Between Stations, a 100 edition long-form generative release on fxhash November 2021. It's palette, and the project were inspired by early 60's Jazz albums. I extended The colors that appeared in the project were named: Slate Grey, Cream, Vintage Red, Turquoise, and School Bus Yellow. Incidentally, there was a few colors I cut from the original palette, called Subtle Purple, and Light Greenish Grey, that have still never seen the light of day. I utilized that same palette on several more fxhash releases, until I really solidified it as a signiture color scheme with the release of A Stitch Is Fine in December of 2021. When I incorporated tha I eventually added a Brown to the color scheme, which I refer to now as Full Classic.
Loom is a remixed and minimized version, utilizing only warm or neutral colors from of the Classic palette, debuting in February 2022 with my fxhash release aether:Astral Loom.
Raw Selvedge is inspired by Japanese Denim and the vibrancy of materials used in the art of Sashiko.
707 made it's debut in Physical Culture 02, a project published under my fxhash Sketchbook account in August 2022. It's name comes from an iconic drum machine from the 80's, and just gives me a happy vibe.
AM/PM and Reds are newly created palettes for Speak To Me. AM/PM emotionally comes from my struggle to get through the changing light of winter into spring. Reds is an excuse to feature some gorgeous reds, which might well be my favorite color to work with time and again.
Between Stations, 2021
aether: Astral Loom, 2022
Full Classic
Stitch Classic
Loom
AM/PM
Raw Selvedge
Reds
707
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