From the Insecta Class and Apidae Family, we find the Species Apis Mellifera: the western honey bee.  One of the more iconic aspects of honey bees is their hive, the hexagonal grid we call honeycomb; an efficient use of resources and space, and a beautiful representation of a geometric shape found in nature.

The humble grid has also been a mainstay of generative art from its earliest days.  Code up a loop or two and see what you can do.  What I've done with grids has been seen in many of my projects over the past year; in *Polka*, *Over the Air*, *Ode to Untitled*, and now *Mellifera*.  Breaking from the rectangular and square grid, and embracing the complexities of the hexagonal grid, *Mellifera* creates patterns working within the points and sides of a hexagon while laying out those patterns across a honeycomb like structure.

While working through this series of grid based projects, one main area of study has been finding ways to move off the grid, at least in appearance.  A recent move to a rural home has left me much more off the grid, and there's been a parallel through my projects.  Increasingly, I've explored ways to make the overall aesthetic not appear grid-like, to have a more organic feel, all the while though still centering elements perfectly in their place across the grid.  *Mellifera*, with its use of hexagons, imperfections, unique symbols, rotation, and negative space, is another step in this evolution, and the largest one yet.

While most of my work has embraced the digital and machine-like feel that computers and code are so easily capable of (again influenced from my appreciation of Roy), *Mellifera* moves in a new direction, introducing a more imperfect and human feel to the lines, shapes, and symbols.  These imperfections change the overall aesthetic drastically and are a main component in helping break away from the grid, visually.  While honey bees are incredible in their ability to create beautiful hexagonal geometric patterns, there's still a natural, lived-in feel to their creations, and *Mellifera* uses this organic quality as inspiration.

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Mellifera

This series delves into a glitch style technique called pixel sorting, which is generally known to be used as a post-processing method in photography. Pixel sorting is a procedure that isolates segments of pixels and sorts their positions based on any number of criteria (i.e. luminosity, hue, saturation). 

Assorted Positivity is a generative approach to making pixel sorting art without any photographic base. The algorithm uses several types of noise to generate an initial design, each one unique to the token and specifically conducive to pixel-sorting. The sorting displaces pixels in various directions based on their grayscale value; and hues determine how the sorting ends. Sometimes the sorting lends itself to a sort of drip look and other times it presents itself as depth and shading.

This project was initially influenced by my desire to sort past the ubiquitous negativity online and focus on the positivity, generosity, and genuine thoughtfulness that I have witnessed around this genart space--with collectors, artists, and people who simply appreciate the community.

Integrated into each piece is an uplifting adjective that is visible, yet blended into the art. At a glance, the viewer may not notice the steganographic message that is conveyed by an international visual method of telegraphing words. Each word is one that I imagine being used to describe people in the community, their actions, artists, and/or their work.

Every output brings me joy, and is a reminder to treat others with kindness and positivity.

Watch as the pixels sort themselves out. 

Rendering is best viewed in Chrome on a desktop with a high end GPU.

A portion of the proceeds will go toward the international Make-A-Wish Foundation in the hopes of bringing some joy to critically ill children around the globe.

Assorted Positivity

Sol LeWitt's Wall Drawing #118 instructs executors to connect randomly-placed points with straight lines, on a continuous surface of wall. Art Blocks Project #118 imagines that seminal artwork executed on complex, algorithmically-generated walls.

LeWitt Generator Generator

Neophyte MMXXII is my ode to the computational beauty of nature. Generative plants grow from nothingness, bloom, fade away, and regrow anew. Each NFT produces a unique species of simulated plant life, and new varieties within that species arise over time. 

The emergent qualities of the genetic code cause Neophyte to ebb and flow between stability and unpredictability. Long term observation is rewarded, as the longest cycles take several hours to complete. These qualities combined, result in artworks which may be cyclical and relatively stable, or may never repeat themselves. 

Neophyte MMXXII is the culmination of an artistic inquiry spanning ten years, five software development environments, and a dozen artworks. If you’d like to learn more about this history, please visit my website.


A note to collectors: 

Collectors of the first 25 editions to be minted may request a signed 19.5x12" (50x30cm) printed circuit board artwork commemorating the release of Neophyte MMXXII at no additional charge. See @sterlingcrispin on Twitter or sterlingcrispin.com for more details.

Neophyte MMXXII is released under the NFT license 2.0, so collectors are free to make prints of their token, and commercialize them within limits. See the NFT license for details.

Neophyte MMXXII

Paths is an animated journey across various subterranean and aboveground environments. To fully experience the project, you need to see it in high resolution with a capable GPU. Make sure that your browser uses your dedicated graphics card if any, and that you get a good frame rate. Control keys: 1-4 (change speed), 9 (fill aspect ratio), 0 (original aspect ratio), space-bar (play/pause)

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Paths #163

Darien Brito

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