The phenomena of the spiral is located throughout the natural world, found in everything from nautili and galaxies, to fractals and sacred geometries. Much like the gravitational pull of patterns in the universe, Jen Stark's series of generative vortexes pays homage to the intricate systems present in our daily lives. 

Drawing upon the aesthetic practice of her signature paper sculptures, Stark's hand-cut techniques are translated to adapt and evolve within the digital realm through code, brought to life through harmonic sine waves.

Click and drag to interact with these sculptural tunnels.



Vortex

*Please Note: This is an Exponential Dutch Auction (no settlement). The price you purchase is the price you will pay.*

An ideal human being is one big optimization problem. We have a goal - we optimize our actions to maximize the outcome of this goal. 
In our initial days, we optimize to stay alive, during school, we optimize to study well, gain skills and obtain the best scores.

As we progress in our careers we optimize to get the most amount of money, material growth, and maybe even influential growth such as fame.

As we age we optimize to minimize diseases and maximize our lifespan - we workout, we eat healthily, we retire, and rest 

As ideal as it sounds, how do we know what exact actions would lead to maximizing my outcome? At this very moment - instead of reading this should you be doing something else that would make your life’s outcome better? Maybe, maybe not - We don't know... Although, we do find out through trial and error. 

In the grand scheme of things we’re just an agent exploring actions around us, learning which ones increase our reward and choosing the path that seems to lead to the maximum reward. Cerebellum is a window (pun intended) of the human mind - a continuously evolving art piece that is built on top of a reinforcement learning agent that is learning and optimizing and evolving as you see it. 

The project starts with an untrained model of a reinforcement learning agent that is deployed in an environment where it is faced with positive reward and negative reward. The agent is also equipped with a bunch of eyes that lets it sense the objects around it and judge if it wants to go ahead and consume the object or abstain and move in a different direction. The agent here is optimization to maximize its positive rewards while avoiding the negative ones. How does the agent know if a reward is positive or negative? - It learns that after experiencing a bunch of samples. And the magic is - all of this happens in your browser. The seemingly random motion of the agent at the beginning running into everything it sees subsides with time as it learns better about the environment and only hits on the positive rewards. How fast does this happen? Depends on your luck - every art has agents with varied number of eyes and range of these eyes. In addition with every refresh your agent would start from a new place, taking a new path - a path that might lead to it learning things at a different pace depending on what it comes across as it explores. To add some practicality - the environment also has some walls, elements that just block the agent from moving doesn’t add or decrease rewards. Hinders the agent’s movement, lets it find a different path - sometimes this is needed for the agent to strategize, sometimes it's just a hindrance… I’ll leave this to your imagination as you see the agent in action…
The seemingly random motion - the path towards true understanding - the process of optimisation is captured by the windows. Windows that show the beauty of this process expressed in a variety of ways. 

Cerebellum is a window into the black box of AI, an unapologetic exaltation of the unpolished, an ode to the process and its aesthetic vernacular.

+ Press 'p' to switch from 2d/3d views
+ Press 'e' to expose the reinforced learning layer
+ Press 't' to pause/unpause the training of the agent
+ Press 'w' to randomize the walls of the training environment

On mobile, tap to switch from 2d to 3d

Cerebellum

Pigments is an exploration of colour and spatial distortion. Each instance is an abstract representation aimed at evoking a micro or macro-environment; from unknown substances, or oil in a canvas, to nebular formations. The pieces are animated, meant to be experienced live. The piece can run endlessly, with infinite output. To run it smoothly you need a capable GPU. If this proves to be too computationally intensive, or if you prefer a static view, feel free to press the spacebar.

Pigments

_Alan Ki Aankhen_ is an exploration of other-worldly cityscapes in the visual aesthetic of Fahad’s distinct style with pen and paper. The title, translated as _Alan’s Eyes_, alludes to Alan Turing’s machine intelligence test - a thought experiment foreshadowing a moment in which we can no longer differentiate between the real and the artificial. Though first proposed in 1950, the topic feels especially relevant today, as even our creative practices are being carried by shifting technological tides.

The algorithms and decision-making encoded into this generative art project intentionally imitate Fahad’s approach on traditional mediums - composition rules, textures, and overall themes. The visual elements are inspired by Fahad’s memories from his nomadic life. You’ll find intricate windows from Rajasthan, massive Egyptian pyramids rising from the horizon, a density of civilization only seen in New York, and the moon - a comforting and shared sight no matter where you stand.

Alan Ki Aankhen

When I started using a computer, I believed that digital data could be stored forever. I saved my favorite picture files and small free software files to floppy disks with a capacity of roughly 1 megabyte and stored them carefully. Those floppy disks were my treasure. Later, when the disks deteriorated and became unreadable or were lost, the data became memories with a deep feeling of loss.

Blockchains have arisen. Are these truly persistent?

After all, digital data are also a type of memories. They are stored in a person's mind, deteriorate, and one day will be lost with that person.

I find the fragility and beauty in them.
　





　
In this work, I attempted to represent a fictional collapsed blockchain world with visuals and sound.
　
The chain has already been abandoned, and the few nodes that remain barely alive are just maintaining their appearances. Visualizing the remnants of blocks that no longer serve their original purpose, they form something like a submerged city. Then, a large amount of data that has lost its connection to the blocks and has deteriorated to the point that it can no longer be opened, flutters through the sky. The countless remnants of data form a cloud, which undulates like a wave. The details of the data cannot be confirmed, however, they can be seen as glittering lights. As I try to recall the contents of the data that can no longer be opened, I am filled with vague memories and a sense of nostalgia.

This work started with generating sound by code. The sound of rippling waves can be heard by clicking on the screen. Since it would be impractical to store huge sound data on the blockchain, the sound was formed from white noise. In order to reproduce the sound of rippling waves, it was necessary to deepen my understanding of the structure of the sound by referring to academic papers. Then the sound was completed, and the visual imagination expanded from there.

I like to visit the sea near my home and in other places. Different seascapes can be seen from different locations and angles. When I am there, idly gazing at the seascape and listening to the sound of the waves, I sometimes feel as if I am the only human there and the world has gone to ruin. If the world were ruined, this seascape and the sound of the waves would remain for a long time. This feeling and the fragility felt in digital data are the basis of this work. I imagine that the heaven or the graveyard where the lost data flies up in the sky and arrives may be a seascape like this.

The reason why I used data as lights and clouds drifting in the sky and moved them like waves is because I wanted to depict unrealistic behavior with a realistic subject matter and to express a beautiful and bizarre world in which these intertwine.

For the visual expression technique, I further pursued and evolved the drawing system that I have developed in "GHOST IN THE CODE" and my other works. Everything is composed of rectangles, indicating that this world is beginning to become low-resolution. Depth is linked to the size of the rectangles, and distant objects are represented by small rectangles as if they were in focus. Dispersion in the position and color of the rectangles indicate the degree of deterioration of the world. Moreover, the sky, blocks, and the surface of the water are identified and each has its own characteristics.

Algorithms generate various compositions, colors, and other features. I have attempted to make each output feel nostalgic and fresh at the same time. The blocks, which have lost their original meaning, are contrasted with the data, which exists in isolation from them, in stillness and movement. Occasional red clouds or blocks mean that they are corrected as red, the first color, due to missing information.

Through these integrations, I have attempted to create a work that can be stored on a blockchain, and that is both visually and sonically interactive.

[NOTE]

-To save the image press the 'S' key.
-To change the flow velocity press the '↑' or '↓' key.

Modern hardware and browser hardware acceleration is recommended. The Chrome browser on a desktop with a high-end GPU is optimal. On iOS, the best experience is available on iOS 15 or later.

Art Blocks Curated

Memories of Digital Data #293

Kazuhiro Tanimoto

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Laya Mathikshara & Santiago

Pigments

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Alan Ki Aankhen

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