Recursion Art

Recursion can be defined as many things, both logically and in a picture.  A recursive image can be an image within the same image of a bigger image, while a recursive function is a function that calls itself.  Recently, the movie Inception makes use of recursion through dreams within dreams.  What I find amazing about recursion is that its both artistic and humorous (though that might be due to my history as a programmer).  When using Google Chrome, a Google search for recursion will result in a message “Did you mean recursion?”.  I cannot explain why I like such a small joke, but I do.  In nature, recursion appears in water ripples and some flowers have layers upon layers in pedals.  My favorite image from class of recursive art has to be the image of two hands drawing each other.  They seem to explain a message that as long as there is one willing to work, that results always have the potential to increase exponentially (these two hands can draw two more hands).  The main reason I see recursion as art is that it is art that can create itself.  An algorithm is a set of instructions that always produce the same result, and as such algorithmic art exists.  Because recursive calls always produce the same result, I see them as art.    

How... How Was This Done?

As the title suggests, this really baffles me.  Upon clicking the link you will find art made from single pieces of paper, while this sounds simple, I can only wish I could do this type of art on a computer.  It is not explained how the user does it, but I feel it is a very minimalist approach to creating art.  By that, I mean they use as little material as possible (a pretty impressive accomplishment for creating such an awesome piece with a single sheet of paper).  Rather than having to buy ink, paint, pencils, marble, canvases, ect., this artist simply has to walk in a store, buy a stack of paper, and get to work.  I especially enjoy the fact that some of the figures are still connected to the paper, giving the feel that the paper is coming to life on its own, trying to break free into the world.  Out of all the pictured works, my favorite one is the skeleton trying to break free, especially because on paper they still have very alive legs drawn onto the paper, while it is the skeleton that is actually coming to life.  Ironic?  Yes very much so, but as I have said in previous posts it is the peculiar works of art that really draw me in and get me engaged.  While some art does involve logic, I am most intrigued by that which has conflicting messages or little logic at all.   

Jump On In! (But Not Really...)

This time I decided to view some street art, and this particular image struck me as incredibly interesting.  As seen in the linked picture, the image is an art work painted onto the ground with a 3-D atmosphere.  As for the story it is trying to tell, I cannot wrap my head around it, but that is part of the beauty I see in this work.  Because I am a programmer, I always tend to look for the logic in everything, and sometimes that ruins me when something is not intended to be logical (there may be in this piece, but I do not know what it is).  It appears to be an old woman trying to fix her television while eating an egg, wearing what appears to be the top half of an egg shell.  If that were not enough, there is a giant cup of coffee with what appears to be a man reading a newspaper inside of it (perhaps frustrated with the broken television).  Also pictured is a cross (indicating a religious aspect), some animals, a tank, and something I cannot quite make out on the leg of the table.  All of these mentioned images are heading towards the "top" of the hole, perhaps resembling they are trying to get out of the hole they have fallen into since the invention of television.  What I feel is the most powerful part of this particular image is not even in the image itself, but rather the fence around it, intended to keep passerbys from "falling in".

Random Elements are Beautiful

Personally, I love the aspect of random elements in the universe.  Much Mozart's Musikalisches Würfelspiel, an algorithm that created music by rearranging pieces of his symphonies, life has random algorithms everywhere.  In Arizona, monsoon season tends to occur during late summer.  Heavy rains, winds, and lightning flood through the sky.  The erratic pattern of lightning is what really captures my attention, as well as many other people in the world.  There are many lightning bolt pictures online, and I guarantee that no two of them are the same.  There are also random artistic elements in casinos as well.  The way in which the reels align, the noises, colors, and odds.  There is something magical about casinos (including the rate at which your money disappears).  Probability and chance are games I tend to enjoy, whether it is gambling or just for fun.  I cannot explain why I am drawn to percentages, but the way it captures my attention is why I believe random elements are artistic.  Many people would disagree, saying that if it is not intended than it cannot be art.  I however believe that it is when you don’t expect anything that the most beautiful works of art come forth.  This belief holds true to my relationship with my girlfriend, an unexpected and welcome surprise thrown my way over a year ago.  No planned art piece has captivated me as much as our first encounter.  The art of love is discussed regularly, no one can say that every case isn’t at least a little random.  

Video Games as Art

So to begin I thought I'd discuss the possibility of video games as art as discussed in class.  Are they art?  I would like to say that they are.  Programmers spend hours bringing their ideas to life to fulfill a story being visually b     roadcasting to the players (some games even allow the user to change the outcome).  Art is said to engage the user, draw in their thoughts and emotions.  That's just what some characters do, especially in games such as Fallout 3 where the gamer creates a character and modifies them to their preferences, and even their name.  I find video games to be beautifully artistic because there are no limitations to them, and the hours they provide in entertainment have to merit to something more than a waste of time.  If these games were not artistic, why would millions of people spend hundreds of hours on them, and then restart them to change the outcomes?  The field of video games is ever growing, and I am excited to see what the future of them will produce.  The number of gamers is also growing with the release of new consoles and platforms.  Gaming has expanded past arcades, past computers, past home systems, and even past phones.  Games have even become a part of daily social media such as Facebook.  These games attract players through something, whether it is stories, characters, artwork, or something else all together.  The point is these games draw in people on a regular basis, if that is not an art in itself I do not know what is.