I worked on a system where the parameters defined simple rules that were executed. It was cool to have Murrelet slide through different values and see dramatically different results, but then also being able to pick out some of the underlying ring structure.
I’m preparing to do visuals for a show this Saturday. I usually use a component that draws symmetrical repeating patterns based on wallpaper groups. One thing is that wallpaper groups are restricted to those that fit together and cover a never-ending surface, but I’m usually working in the confined frame of the projector, which actually gives me more options. I use the shape’s location to vary their sizes, colors, shapes, and other properties.
I’m working on a new component called “cathedral” that just composes arbitrary symmetries (“rotate around the middle”, “go along a line and flip every other item”). The idea is that if I’m so inspired, I could generate the facade of a cathedral by using a sequence of these symmetries. I used it originally for an assignment where I created rotating mandalas of bird pics or a fancy rug of rocks, where sometimes the images were repeated so often that they stopped looking like the bird and started looking like a gradient of color.
I swapped the photos for geometric shapes that work nicely with feedback at a tech check this weekend. Even with the freedom of repeating in a frame, I found myself reaching for my location-specific variables to break up the regular shapes (not unlike a cathedral that usually has a bit of asymmetry). For the tech check, I tried to push it within the constraints of using the same object repeatedly. I had a lot more fun once I switched back to having location variables, though.
Among the things I’m reading for my new thesis direction is Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, which is an interesting tour of an Appalachian creek, and the various natural world you can understand from looking at it. It reminds me of The Peregrine. One quote that might be connected to understanding a system through its variations:
If you can’t see the forest for the trees, then look at the trees; when you’ve looked at enough trees, you’ve seen a forest, you’ve got it.
I also went to Deer Island and saw a hundred peeps in the wrack. Field-guide-wise, I’m still wrapping up the chimney swift, which uses a new kind of pose with both wings out so I was fixing some issues with my medial coverts. Earlier in the week, I helped roll out ink for the printing press. I stopped by the Boston Live Code meetup and got to talk to someone make patterns in Orca.