**FOCUS** is a 1000 image meditation, and it is my second release of Zen-inspired generative art, following [Ensō](https://www.artblocks.io/project/34).

This algorithm can produce images that are elegantly minimal, as well as images featuring complex patterns that explore visual illusions and artificial space. The limited palette consists of black, white, and five colors; this both constrains possible outcomes and allows the creation of unique perceptual interactions. Inspired by the Zen art tradition of doing more with less, FOCUS does not utilize any pseudo-random number generation, and each output can be recreated by hand using simple math, estimation, and dedication. Except in extremely rare scenarios, each token can provide a wide variety of visual experiences through its interactive features: use up and down arrows to adjust the pattern recursion factor, left and right arrows to adjust the midpoint count, ‘h’ to hide or show the central shape, and ‘s’ to save. FOCUS is best viewed live and full screen.

*Interactive features: use up or down arrows to adjust the background pattern's recursion, and left or right arrows to adjust the number of midpoints along the sides of the background pattern. Use ‘h’ to hide or show the central shape, and ‘s’ to save an image. To use the token's hash to 'autoplay' the token, use Matto's [FOCUS animator](https://matto.xyz/tools/focus-animator/index.html).

*Companion project: deFOCUSed  is a free-to-claim, 100% on-chain, generative art project, where every FOCUS token creates a deFOCUSed token. It's a free gift to my collectors. (Thank you!) [Claim Site](https://defocused.matto.xyz/) |  [More Info](https://matto.xyz/project/defocused/)

FOCUS

These shapes are nothing more than rectangles and lines.

And yet...

There is a concept in painting called 'pentimento', the presence of earlier forms or images that have been painted over. These could be changes that the artist made deliberately, or mistakes that they were able to cover. Sometimes as the paint fades, the pentimenti will be revealed, but often they will remain unseen.

The challenge is to recognize the pentimenti that influence the canvas, but cannot be found there even at the base layer. These are scattered throughout the years of the artist's life.

'Thoughts of Meadow' is a generative system that distorts a chess-like grid into complex shapes. Many of the outputs give the illusion of immense three-dimensional structures using simple geometric principles. It is an attempt to represent the concept of 'pentimento' through the rendering process. Each layer builds upon the complexity of the previous one but also covers it. If you look closely through the gaps in the grid, you can see the incremental changes that took place.

In that sense, this project is a reminder for myself of where I'm from, an incredibly small town called Meadow, and the gratitude I feel for the years I spent there. The first layer of my life's pentimento.

As always, I doubt this project would exist without the work and observations of Vera Molnár. Squares were certainly made for her, I just appreciate being able to borrow them once in a while.

Thoughts of Meadow

An unknown illness has struck the world and is spreading rapidly. Humanity enters quarantine while the world's greatest scientists get to work on finding a cure. As you look upon samples through the microscope glass, you can't help but wonder what horrors you're about to witness. What is it? Where did it come from? How far has it progressed? Do we even have a chance?

Quarantine

Inspired by observing projections of light through a glass cup, Spotlight is an abstract exploration of how light interacts with various shapes and forms in 2D space. It has a strong focus on texture and the use of real world physics as generative rules.

3000 photons spawn on a blank canvas with set direction and velocity. Hidden on the screen, an arrangement of shapes populate the space. When a photon collides with the edge of a shape, it either reflects off or refracts through its surface, changing the photon's direction and color. These photons leave small circles along their path...the only drawn element in the artwork. This painting of light both reveals the hidden forms below and ties their chaotic arrangement together. The resulting image captures the motion and evolution of the light, generating beautiful gradients and layers, and creating the illusion of depth, shadows, and highlights. 

Press 's' to save a snapshot of the canvas, and 'd' to reveal outlines of the shapes.
This artwork renders live, from a blank screen to a filled screen. It may take a while to fully render. Best viewed in extra high definition.

Spotlight

In this optical parade, motion is created from the harmonious expansion and contraction of colorful bars. Click to pause. *Photosensitive seizure warning: These artworks contain flashing colors and moving patterns. Dutch auction starting at 2 Eth and proceeding through the following tiers every 5 minutes until a resting price of .5 Eth is reached: 2 -> 1.5 -> 1  -> .5

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