Prismatic explores color, refraction, and interaction. Every invocation is presented as a still image, but responds to keystrokes with transformations. Start with the arrow keys. Please note: This project is not presented with any features or traits. While features were used in the algorithm in order to introduce variation, each invocation of Prismatic is intended to be experienced as a piece of a whole. The project itself is the prism, each mint is a moment captured as we pass through it.

Prismatic

Karma, the original algorithm of Indian thought. Action, inaction, randomness, will -- all are ground in its maw to determine the manifest shape of the next moment. The past makes the present, and shall do so in the future.

But what one sees is the eternal present, and from there, the past is only the fading imprint on memory, an imprint that leaves us with the perception of pattern, as gratifying as it is mystical. The past's fading, thus, is a necessity.

Interaction:
Click/Hold anywhere to start drawing. Press the 'down arrow' to clear the canvas.

KARMA

### Good job, Computer. Do that some more.

To what degree can we teach a computer to make a painting? One that resembles creation from the imperfect hand of a human. Here, the computer attempts to hide itself from the viewer in the details, such as inconsistent borders or uneven layers of paint. Intentional flaws that a human might make unintentionally.
Good, Computer is an exploration of not only how small cumulative inaccuracies create complete images, but also the forms and harmonies that those images evoke.

Consider the following:

***A set of 4 colors is to be considered -- singly as "actors," together as "cast." They are to be presented in 4 different arrangements -- as "performances."***
***Although they remain unchanged in hue and light, in "character", and appear in an unchanging outer frame, the "stage", they are to produce 4 different "scenes" or "plays," each to be so different that one and the same set of colors will be seen as 4 different sets, presented by 4 different casts.***
***And all this can be achieved mainly through changes in quantity which result in shifts of dominance, of recurrence, and consequently of placement.***
***The essential question: which group of colors is ready to lose its identity as a cast?*** 
***-- Josef Albers***

We can answer this question simply by asking ourselves why we're drawn to some arrangements more than others. In doing so, we consider not just tone, but also quantity, intensity and weight in order to form new relationships between the colours. And as such the viewer gives each image their own subjective personality.

---

Press `s` to save image.

Good, Computer

While rotating and morphing, an undercover shape blends in with criss-crossing layers of color blocks.

WARNING: Contains flashing imagery.

Interactive Controls: 
Use the arrow keys (or WASD) to move the undercover shape around the screen
Press F to toggle on/off the flashing color blocks
Press R to toggle on/off the rotation of the shape
Press M to toggle on/off the morphing of the shape
Press C to center the shape on the canvas
Press B to return the shape to its beginning location
Press spacebar to toggle on/off all animations

Undercover

```
░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░
  ___ _  _____ _   _  ___  __  __  ___  ___ ___ _  _ ___ 
 / __| |/ / __| | | |/ _ \|  \/  |/ _ \| _ \ _ \ || / __|
 \__ \ ' <| _|| |_| | (_) | |\/| | (_) |   /  _/ __ \__ \
 |___/_|\_\___|\___/ \___/|_|  |_|\___/|_|_\_| |_||_|___/

░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░

```

A skeuomorph is a derivative object that retains ornamental design cues from structures that were necessary in the original. They are used widely in architecture, product design, and perhaps most familiarly in user interfaces. Think: desktop icons like trash cans or notepads. SKEUOMORPHS is a meditation on this digital tradition. 

SKEUOMORPHS picks up where RASTER left off as an another exploration of the materiality of pixels and rasterized imagery. Here the study of pixels narrows in on the shallow depth of on-screen interfaces and the play of low-res figure-ground effects. Moments of skeuomorphism where the 2-dimensional plane of the screen becomes slightly 3-dimensional through beveling or drop-shadows are extracted and used as abstract painterly details. These elements that are typically used to make computation and interfaces more familiar become unfamiliar on the canvas, suggesting the possibility of an aesthetic between abstraction and realism.

SKEUOMORPHS employs recurring themes and techniques from my art practice: limited color palettes, low-res chunky pixels, dithering, and physics simulation. It uses a specific kind of dithering called R-sequence dither developed by Martin Roberts. Like traditional Bayer matrix-based dithering, this technique produces a patterned image akin to retro video games and early computer screens. In this project, the R-dither pattern results in a woven textile-like texture, which recalls the long relationship between computing and weaving. The canvas negotiates two scales simultaneously: that of the dithered pixel (rendered at 1/1024th of the canvas height) and the simulated particle that acts as a brush stroke (rendered at 1/256th of the canvas height). The two resolutions work together to produce a cohesive texture that is neither pretending to be a retrograde screen nor an analog material but something in between. Similar to RASTER, the goal is to investigate new avenues for digital aesthetics that rely on a combination of historical techniques and innovative practices.

Use mouse or touch controls to interact.
Press 's' to grab a still frame.

Collectors will be eligible to receive a signed archival giclée print of their mint.

Art Blocks Presents

SKEUOMORPHS #0

itsgalo

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