*Arcadia* is a homage to the fridge-worthy landscape art of our youth. Childhood techniques of creating art are re-imagined by the scribbles of a nostalgic, computer-assisted mind.

**Spacebar**: Skip animation and load final image (useful when rendering in high resolutions)
**Up arrow**: Speed scribbles up (default speed is the highest)
**Down arrow**: Slow scribbles down

Arcadia

In Zen, ensō is a symbol that represents elegance and enlightenment. It is typically painted by hand in an uninhibited way, allowing for unexpected and beautiful results. Inspired by sumi-e (ink wash painting), this project mimics the practice of painting an ensō in ink by utilizing p5.js. Each generated image uses values from a unique transaction hash to determine paper, brush, ink, the quantity of ink held by each bristle, how quickly the ink flows, and more—all with the goal of creating a simple yet serendipitous painting.

Ensō

Center pivot irrigation is a mainstay of the American farm. Like giant inkjet printers, they have painted verdant circles onto landscapes since the 1950s. The artists of this piece grew up in America’s breadbasket near the birthplace of the center pivot, surrounded by the nostalgia of the Family Farm. These were years of innocence – free from concerns of water shortages, chemical leaching, and economic controversy. The tension between childhood times and today’s environmental reality is a canvas for re-envisioning center pivots: they are fundamentally giant drawing machines. What happens when water is rationed? …when they are free to draw? …when they behave unexpectedly? Your token serves as the instructions for these machines—instructions that either constrain or liberate the machine to paint fantastical scenes.

Watch the project teaser video, learn more about the rationale, and see example mints at https://centerpivot.art/

Additional controls interact with each other and have varying impacts during different periods of the animation. Experiment to create and save a new variation of your mint!
'Arrow up' increases evaporation
'Arrow down' decreases evaporation
'Arrow right' increases overspray
'Arrow left' decreases overspray
'.' begins sunset; neon colors emerge depending on when initiated
'/' shows pivot mechanisms only
's' saves screenshot

Center Pivot

*NOTE: The first 46 minters (tokens #1-46) will receive The Rising Edition physical collection as a gift. Please see the end of the project description to learn more about this unique box set.*

As the temperature reads 113 degrees Fahrenheit (45 Celsius), the hottest on record in the spot where I stand, my shoes are melting into the asphalt and my vision is blurred. I wonder how we got here from those rainy springs and where we will go. The heat’s visible haze makes me doubt the possibility of future Augusts spent outdoors. It is in this haze that *chaos comes with the summer haze* takes form. 

My inspiration is from both beauty and fear - the beauty of the land, the water, the flowers, the beauty of paint and code, the beauty of humanity – the fear of panic and mob mentalities, the fear of incongruity and environmental collapse, the fear of humankind. It is from the obsessiveness, visual overload, content overload, and our aching yet hopeful eyes as we stare towards the horizon.

*chaos comes with the summer haze* is specifically aligned with my art practice, which for decades has attempted to address technology, climate change, human irrationality and human rights, while being unencumbered by limitations of medium. Whether it is dragging paintings in the ocean, writing a new constitution, or encoding this Project, all have the same goal - creating impressions that are pleasing while acting as guideposts or warnings. Here, I’ve ratcheted up the intensity of everything. The breadth of coloration, brushstrokes and variety of possible outputs push dramatically in a way only possible through the generative process. Many times, I feel the code taking over the composition with the intent of heightening the chaos itself, perhaps adding an exclamation point to the warning therein.

Visually, it is symptomatic of both human and earthly chaos. The earthly ‘gestalts’ are the seas rising and the clouds gathering. The ‘meltdowns’ are the human brushstrokes that feel panicked, despite being controlled. They are haphazard, geometric and duplicative. They obscure reality. The handpicked colors touch the rainbow of possibilities, but are affected by that summer haze. The ‘shadow frequency’ demonstrates content overload, duplication and machine learning, all creating further feelings of distress.  There are layers and layers of possibilities – of coffee stains, of visual heat, of faces, of ideas, of dimensional portals, of the future...

*The Rising Edition* 

The first 46 minters (tokens #1-46) will receive *The Rising Edition* physical collection as a gift, 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) varnished maple board, signed and titled on verso. 

* A sculpture featuring a porcelain blanketed rock - discovered, shaped and fired by the Artist. 

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

Please visit the Project’s website for images of the Rising Edition and further details on the Project.

*Controls*

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

chaos comes with the summer haze

A track. Some vehicles. An endless chase for lovers of loops.

Art Blocks Presents

Arcadia #231

Zachariah Watson

More in Art Blocks Presents

Ensō

Matto

Center Pivot

Craig Hughes & Eric Hughes

chaos comes with the summer haze

Cole Sternberg

24 Heures

Alexis André

Art

Company

Learn