_There are no artifacts. There are only interpretations._

Glass is about the illusion of simplicity that cocoons us in our everyday existence. A glance at Glass may suggest a foam of bubbles or pebbles under clear water. But on inspection, these simple pictures dissolve. Instead of disks one finds stacked panes of translucent glass, intersecting and overlapping. There is dissonance between fine-scale chaos and the harmony of the aggregate. In Glass, two levels of reality -- panes of glass and the foam of bubbles -- are brought close together in scale, so that our oversimplified impression yields a palpable disquiet.

What appears simple is often anything but. Consider a standard wooden desk. To our eyes, it looks solid and continuous, but we know that it is made of atoms, tiny electrons orbiting nuclei. And these subatomic particles are themselves not like miniature solar systems, but creatures of quantum mechanics, stranger than we can imagine. The vast difference in scale between the atomic and the macroscopic hides this complex reality, but fundamentally it is the same phenomenon shown here.

Glass continues my exploration of emergence. While in previous work I explored how simple systems can create complex, emergent forms, here the interest is in the converse: how coherence is often deceptive, masking a complex underlying reality.

Glass draws on the aesthetic of Shin Hanga artists Hiroshi Yoshida and Kawase Hasui, and abstract expressionist Sonja Sekula. In live view, Glass has ambient motion: the shadows evolve, imperceptibly slowly.

The following variations & controls are possible. You may need to click on the canvas before they are active. For a high-resolution output, use the pixel density controls. For example, on a standard laptop, an image saved at pixel density 5 will be approximately 3200 x 4000 pixels, and therefore suitable for printing at ~ 11" x 13" at 300 dpi.

Variations (require redrawing):

f -- fit-to-screen on/off
o -- outline on/off

Controls:

s   -- save as png
spacebar  -- pause/unpause ( useful to reduce CPU load in Live mode )
b -- border on/off ( useful for printing )
1-9  -- set pixel density (default=2 on retina displays)
+/-  -- increase/decrease pixel density

Glass

"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

Tropism is the phenomenon in which an organism's growth is influenced by environmental stimuli. Organisms of all shapes, sizes, and colors encounter varying amounts of external forces as they grow. These environmental stimuli are internalized, and the marks they leave end up being the defining characteristics of a life.

Tropism

*the spring begins with the first rainstorm* is my merger of earthly patterning and digital dynamics, seeing both organisms as collaborators in an effort to erase the human hand and glimpse into an environmental portal.

My inspiration comes from falling in the fountains of the Louvre as a child and sneaking past the guards to enter the glass temple dripping and squishing with each step – from Sigmar Polke’s dispersion paintings – from Joseph Beuys and Bas Jan Ader – from Aldous Huxley and John Muir – from the plentiful and the barren – from the joy of discovery and the fear of what could unravel.

I started with the pattern variable, this movement was first created by dragging large paintings through the ocean until my brushstrokes disappeared and the earth becomes the composer. The movement that emerged is akin to light fracturing through water, the bark of trees, or the skin of reptiles. When redacted into visible pixels it harkens to traditional screen-printing and a web 1.0 dream. When the patterns start multiplying, they become portals to elsewhere, while also signifying a system trying to ‘learn’ the movements of the earth. I see the ‘hibernal’ as blizzards, ‘maelstrom’ as dreams of the deep water and the ‘arboretum’ as lush gardens. The palette variable is meant to mirror lavish watercolor washes while the smokey ribboning represents the winds. In totality, I hope is to blur many lines – constructed and broken down, calming and fearsome, aspirational and apocalyptic.


*The Genesis Edition*

The first 48 mints shall receive this special edition collection, which includes:

* A unique print of the minter’s piece, printed on archival Hahnemühle German etching paper, mounted on 16” x 12” (40.6 cm x 30.5 cm) maple board, signed and titled on verso.

* A serpentine rock I collected near 34.744145603, -119.98518572 (including a maple presentation stand).

* A limited edition visual compendium chronicling the conceptual theory of the work, signed and numbered.

Please visit the [project website](https://thespringbegins.io/the-genesis-edition) for more details about the Genesis Edition.

Controls:

p - for a high resolution (6000 x 7200 pixels) printable version
s - to save the image as a png file

the spring begins with the first rainstorm

Departing from generative art’s focus on the size and variety of algorithmic outputs, Coalition contains just 36 geometric creations. Every mint is composed of unique combinations of line, shape, and color, making them artworks unto themselves. However, just as significant as the individual mints is the larger series of which they are each a part. When viewed collectively as a 6x6 grid, the 36 tokens make up a larger, single artwork, the titular Coalition. Patterns and palettes that exist across different tokens come together seamlessly in the Coalition, allowing users to recognize their mint as an indispensable element of the coherent whole.

By highlighting the inextricable relationship between the single set and its 36 components, Coalition suggests that storytelling must play a vital role in the future of generative art. The medium’s current emphasis on long-form algorithmic exploration has come at the expense of narrative craft. While long-form algorithmic exploration has produced groundbreaking artwork and will continue to do so, our project urges practitioners and collectors to consider generative art’s capabilities outside of replicating the look of analog media. Instead of attempting a mimesis of old modes of production, Coalition foregrounds the stories about human experience that emerge when artists free their code from the burden of replicating paint and paper. We ask, does the “art” in generative art refer to the algorithm, or the outputs?

To encourage artists and collectors to value storytelling and limitation in their NFTs, Coalition doubles as performance art. While the set is limited to 36 mints, a 37th is available for purchase. The collector who buys the final token will find only an error message. The algorithm self-destructs after mint #35. Read about why we chose to do this [here](https://medium.com/@generativeartworks/from-reservation-to-coalition-the-stories-that-generative-art-can-tell-d5466e7ba15b).

There can be no avant-garde because everything has been done.
—Pedro Friedeberg

Art Blocks Presents

Glass #146

Eric De Giuli

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