"Attraction" is a system that draws single pixels, one by one, according to a set of rules inspired by the 'Chaos Game'.
Additionally, trigonometric functions may be used to displace pixels, resulting in wave patterns.

All unique properties of each artwork are defined by the token's hash. This hash will set all the parameters: the color palette, the positioning of objects and the rules by which pixels are drawn.

By the nature of this system, several well known patterns from computing and math may appear in the artworks.

Attraction

various corners 🌹 various colors 🌹 various directions

Corners

[To learn more about the partnership between Motus and Wolffia, we invite you to watch the ilumz video](https://owenmcateer.com/ilumz/)

Collaborators working in two opposing mediums create a unique expression of art that neither could create alone. Merging IRL artistic techniques with algorithmic generative coding. Holding focus on creations that are varied, organic and feature human characteristics of spontaneous art work.

In the era of the machine, harmony and humanity shine through ilumz. This is rooted in the artists’ contrasting disciplines, techniques and styles which meld to create a cohesive choreography of abstract, organic, generative art.

The creative spark was a chance meeting of opposites. An abstract multi media artist (Wolffia) with an intuitive, freeform, joyful flair and a keen eye for bold shapes, vibrant colours and varied textures. And a creative coder (Motus) who uses algorithms and mathematics to explore the hidden beauty within numbers. 

Their ilumz brainchild is an algorithm with a human touch and the intelligence to not just replicate painted works but to redraw, reconfigure and recreate. Composition is at the core, so ilumz dynamically builds interaction and divergence into a symphony of shape. This fine balance creates a uniquely natural feel that isn’t overpowered by the algorithm for a distinct aesthetic – call it calm wonderment.

Ilumz is a journey from contrast to cohesion that blurs the boundary between physical art and digital craft. It fuses geometry with incidental imperfections of hand-drawn elements. And it’s full circle as Wolffia and Motus continue to catalyse (and challenge) each other’s thinking. You can see the humanity and the sense of partnership in every ilumz mint.

*“Chance, mistakes, serendipity... from abstract to algorithm we wanted our hybrid physical-digital project to sing of human touch.”*
*Wolffia Inc.*

*“Working out the rules for how shapes interact, collide and overlap to create unpredictable complexity opens so many opportunities to explore.”*
*Motus*

ilumz

I find the patterns which emerge from the herding of sheep and the murmuration of starlings an apt metaphor for our own journeys of searching for truth, beauty and love while we're here. These pieces are best viewed live to witness how the path of these digital creatures' lives paint their tiny planet. ***
I behold the sleeping planet ​| Plucked from the sky | Rolled around in my hands. | “My Word formed it.” | Time worn, | Life stained, | Soil rinsed and washed. | “Our story in repose.” | Love lost, | Wanderlust, | Loud surrender. | “It must have been painful.” | Placed in my collection, | Delicate and beautiful, | When viewed from this distance. | Selah. | I return my gaze to the heavens. *** 
25% of sales above resting price will be used to fund The Playability Initiative whose mission is to design free, fun video games and creative digital tools to kids with disabilities.

Beauty in the Hurting

Compression has been the driving force behind the image-based internet since the early 90s. No compression, no Netscape, no social media, no NFTs. The JPEG compression has specifically enabled photography-based imagery on the net. It has always served that purpose and over time become the de facto default for showing high quality imagery online. But compression always leaves a trace, which has become the lens through which the network sees the world of uploaded images.

"A painting is not a picture of an experience, but is the experience." ― Mark Rothko

JPEG tries to create an image programatically fully expressing that signature compression. An image that is like empty made from barely nothing, yet fully present in its blazing appearance. A work deeply material, expressing itself through the language of code and codec only. This is not a JPEG depicting an image. The JPEG is the image itself.

Delving into the depths and peculiarities of the digital, tethered to art history, JPEG found its way to the surface. Generated color fields are utilised to trigger the compressing algorithm, resulting in a world of raw visual entities. Where the abstract expressionists cut out the depiction in painting, aiming to let the artist convey pure emotion, JPEG cuts out the artist's emotion and lets it emerge from within the algorithm. Carefully you could categorize the work as *compressionism*. An art form where the machine speaks in its own raw language, but nevertheless makes a direct touch to our human heart.

JPEG is a collection of generative images in the JPEG file format. The work tries to break with the idea of the fixed file format, therefor creating the JPEG entirely from code using no image material whatsoever. The individual JPEGs are generated responsively at the moment of viewing based on the token hash as a random seed. You can literally drag the JPEG out from the browser window.

JPEG pays tribute to interface culture, and as such the work is responsive and not scaling. When the work is resized, the work is again rendered and compressed. When viewed smaller, details will disappear, yet the composition stays recognisable. It’s like stepping back to see a work from further away. The choice of color wanders from monochromatic tones to the brutality of complete randomness and everything in between.

In honour of the blockchain and the web, the work is written in vanilla JavaScript, using no dependancies, and generates a standard JPEG. This way the file is downloadable, aiming for a materiality that comes as close as possible to the standard browser.

Art Blocks Presents

Attraction #262

Jos Vromans

More in Art Blocks Presents

Corners

Rafaël Rozendaal

ilumz

Wolffia Inc. & Motus Art

Beauty in the Hurting

Ryan Green

JPEG

Jan Robert Leegte

Art

Company

Learn