«𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨'𝘴 𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘮𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘭𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶?»¹

In these formal studies, geometric figures are cut, broken, divided, subdivided, colorized and finally «set to drift»² in an endless scrolling motion. The elements in each composition vary over time without ever reaching a final form.

Visual artifacts remind of analog electronics. Feedback loops undermine the accuracy of digital technology. As time passes, it is increasingly difficult to recognize the original composition: frame after frame, cycle after cycle, the image is dissolved into a landscape of liquid forms and oversaturated colors. 

After having pursued harmony and balance, it is liberating to surrender and witness the carefully crafted compositions blend into a chaotic interplay of lights and shapes.

Drifting, la «dérive»³, is an ongoing dialogue with the machine, started as an exploration of an aesthetic system and turned into a journey of self–discovery. 

(1) 𝘚𝘶𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘏𝘈𝘓9000 𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘋𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘉𝘰𝘸𝘮𝘢𝘯 («2001: 𝘈 𝘚𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘖𝘥𝘺𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘺», 𝘚. 𝘒𝘶𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘬, 1968). (2) «𝘋𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨» 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘢 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘯𝘪𝘲𝘶𝘦 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘰 𝘢𝘳𝘵: “𝘣𝘺 𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘢𝘭, […] 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘻𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺” («𝘕𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘢 𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘦-𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘰», 𝘓. 𝘍𝘶𝘳𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨, 1970). (3) 𝘍𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘩 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 «𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘵» (𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 «𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦 𝘥𝘦 𝘭𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦», 𝘎. 𝘋𝘦𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘥, 1956).

Drifting

# Seedlings

"A young plant, especially one raised from a seed."

Each Seedling grows delicately on a windowsill gazing outside. A Seedling's natural environment–whether a grassy prairie, a rocky mountain, or by a river–is but a memory now, leaving a faded imprint on the canvas' outer border. Some Seedlings resemble trees and flowers, others may appear to be geometric abstractions and fractals–yet all feature interplay between filled patterned regions (leaves and petals) and lines of solid color (stems and branches). Other abstractions also make an appearance: circles representing fruits, stars, or the sun and moon; and a gradient sky with foggy clouds beyond the frames of the window.

## Foundation

The idea for Seedlings was sown in 2019 and was my first foray into Generative Art. It began as a study of fractal trees where each depth level was individually parametrized (angle of rotation, length, etc.). Initially just a hobbyist project in the pre-Art Blocks era, I returned to Seedlings in 2022 to develop it into the longform series, I believe, that most effectively highlights the underlying algorithm's potential. So, I rewrote Seedlings from scratch, turning its simple monochromatic line renderer into a WebGL shader renderer capable of transforming Bézier curves into abstract stems, branches, leaves, and petals with diverse and colorful palettes.

## Inspiration

Having lived much of my life in New York, one of the most urbanized cities in the world, I developed a significant appreciation for green spaces. The city's parks became a refuge from the urban sprawl–where one could touch some grass, breathe fresh air, and pretend they were somewhere else. In an attempt to fill more of my life with green, I placed some plants on my windowsill. The joy they bring my home inspired Seedlings.

Over the course of its development, Seedlings collected many stylistic influences, including Hokusai's trees, Charles Demuth's crisscrossing polygonal regions, and Alphonse Mucha's curves. As such, you will find elements of Ukiyo-e and Art Nouveau across the collection. Seedlings also contains stylistic elements found in my other work, such as ink-like outlining and the concept of shape overlap.

Additionally, I drew inspiration from contemporary longform Generative Art that aims to create complex emergent behaviors from the interactions of a small set of primitives. The structural patterns that form each Seedling are created purely from the probabilistic placement of their branches and petals.

## Dedication

Seedlings has been a labor of love and has particular sentimental value to me as the inception of my Generative Art practice. It feels fitting and very exciting to be given the opportunity to release Seedlings on Art Blocks, the original longform Generative Art platform. Thank you to everyone who helped and supported me during this journey.

Seedlings

"Ouroboros" is inspired from the idea that we as humans must continually devour ourselves to be reborn with new understanding. The algorithm is a grid of rounded squares, continuously spinning, an eternal cycle which expresses unity of matter and spirit which never disappear but perpetually change form through this cycle of destruction and re-creation. A multitude of color palettes, grid sizes, blend modes, border styles and shadows allow this project to generate some beautifully mesmerizing outputs. Click for enlightenment.

Ouroboros

Rituals combines generative music and generative artwork to create 1000 unique windows into a singular parametric universe. The music and art are crafted to infinitely evolve, giving collectors a subtly new experience upon each viewing. If left running, a single Ritual will continue generating music and art without repeating for ~9 million years. We invite you to hold space for yourself and enjoy a moment of mindful stillness. The first 200 were minted in real life at Bright Moments in Venice, CA, USA in September 2021.

Best experienced on modern equipment. Click to start.

Artwork by Aaron Penne (@aaronpenne), music by Boreta (@boreta), music system produced by Counterpoint (ctpt.co).

Rituals - Venice

***Crypt***
Crypt is a labyrinth of sound, image, data, and code. It is an enigma. Once solved, it is also a gateway.

Crypt is a multilayered piece of generative art, one that unfolds into something else, then unfolds again. It contains artworks within artworks, found by puzzles inside other puzzles. One leading to another. At the center is a gateway. The gateway opens another world. That world is an Alternate Reality Game filled with cryptic histories, untold stories, and physical treasures hidden all over the world. 

To begin, some hints. The solution to the first puzzle is a three-part key. It leads to another layer. Here is a room of sorts. An escape room. Viewable from three angles. In the room are eight code-words. They lead to the way out. Collaboration is essential.

At the bottom of Crypt is another key. It unlocks a world. It unlocks Cyclops.

To confirm your solution to crypt and claim your reward please visit: https://cyclopsgroup.art

***Cyclops***

Cyclops is a networked performance, collaborative narrative, and alternate-reality-game designed to be played by groups of people working together across the world. Set in the late 1960s and early 1970s, the game begins with a series of audio tracks. Some tracks are musical compositions, others are filled with odd voices reading letters and counting numbers, others still resemble nothing more than noise and static.
 
Each track is, in fact, a puzzle of increasing complexity. As players work together to solve them, a narrative about early research into psychological operations, mind-control experiments, and an alternative history of the internet age begins to emerge. Over the course of the game, players come across - and are invited to collect - a series of artworks specifically created for Cyclops players. To find these artworks, players must identify and follow up on clues provided within the game. Cyclops is a world within a world.

Art Blocks Presents

Crypt #11

The Cyclops Group

More in Art Blocks Presents

Drifting

Simon De Mai

Seedlings

VES3L

Ouroboros

Shane Rich | raregonzo

Rituals - Venice

Aaron Penne x Boreta

Art

Company

Learn