Digital Art
Digital art
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September 2008
Features
Digital art
by Lewis Dartnell
Modern technology has changed many things in our lives, including the way we communicate, travel and
entertain ourselves. Electronic instruments and computer simulations have revolutionised science.
Mathematics, one of the purest forms of human logic and reasoning, has also been changed by computer
approaches. Even art has been undergoing a deep upheaval in the way it is created and appreciated, using
the fast processing and graphical output of computers. The boundary between artist, computer programmer,
and mathematician is becoming ever more blurred. In this article, Lewis Dartnell leads us through some
examples of this exciting new wave of digital art.
New possibilities
Art was once restricted to static creations, such as an oil painting, sculpture or photograph, produced by the
artist and then passively regarded by the viewer. Nowadays, however, computer−based visual art allows
improved dynamic forms art that develops or evolves before our eyes. The "artist" may have no more idea of
what will finally emerge than anyone else. An even more exciting possibility in computer−aided installations
is interactivity digital art that responds to the viewer's actions, for example through input from movements of
the computer mouse, or perhaps even by tracking the motion of different parts of the body. The crucial thing
here is that dynamic digital art is not so much about the appearance of the finished product, as about the
behaviour generated by the art piece through time. The viewer actually helps to modify the work of art, and
becomes the artist him or herself.
Digital art
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Digital art
Early computer art often involved fractals: A detail of the Mandelbrot set created by Wolfgang Beyer.
Mathematics, as the language of form and pattern, has always played an important role in art, but the rise of
computer−generated art blurs the boundaries between art and maths even further. The act of programming
finding ways to store data and then creating logic−based algorithms to generate the desired output is itself
intensely mathematical. But the maths of physics is also used to realistically re−create physical processes, and
the area of computer music getting a computer to find those patterns and features that distinguish music from
mere noise poses a whole new range of mathematical challenges.
Consequently, the early days of computer graphics and digital art were dominated by scientists and research
technicians they were the only people with the specialist knowledge and access to operate the rare and
expensive computers of the time. Even in 1969, Jasia Reichardt, who was then a curator at the Institute of
Contemporary Arts (ICA) in London, said "So far only three artists that I know have actually produced
computer graphics, the rest to date having been made by scientists". Since then, the number of artists using
computers in their work has dramatically increased, especially with developments like the emergence of the
personal computer and easy−to−learn programming languages. One such new computer language, Processing,
is making great strides in enabling artists to become programmers, and programmers to become artists, and
we'll take a look at this free software a little later.
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Digital art
Computer games such as Doom 3 and Neverwinter nights feature sophisticated graphics.
One obvious example of an area where computer−generated visuals have become crucial is in the games and
cinema industries. The graphics in video games and the computer−generated images (CGI) so common
nowadays in films and TV documentaries (TV CGI has come a long way since Walking with Dinosaurs!) rely
enormously on mathematics. The models used to realistically animate the physics of a lumbering monster and
render this model into a photo−realistic animation particularly with the way light interacts with tricky
materials or surface textures such as rippling water or coats of thick animal hair would be impossible without
computers chugging through the maths of Cartesian coordinates, trigonometry, vector geometries, and so on.
It is said that the animators working on the film Shrek really struggled to get a glass of milk to look realistic in
the gingerbread man scene. By the time Shrek II was under production, the graphic artists had cracked the
problem and were able to greatly improve the realism of the rendering by modelling the fact that milk is not in
fact an opaque liquid, but is semi−translucent, letting light inside to scatter about before coming out again.
They were so proud of their new skill that the second film slipped in great volumes of milk: whole vats of it
being sploshed over the sides of a castle! The realism of computer−generated graphics is continually
improving, and in the near future the visuals in a computer game or visual art installation will become
indistinguishable from the real thing.
Computers have heralded a revolution not only in the way that visual art can be produced, but also in how the
piece interacts with its environment, the performance artist or even the viewers. Imagine not just idly looking
at a painting in a stuffy gallery, but dancing in front of an installation and having a projection screen come
alive with colour and movement, instantly responding to and interpreting your actions. Kinetic art forms can
use different input devices and computer processing to allow immediate feed−back and response. These
control inputs extend far beyond the standard computer interfaces of keyboard or mouse, and can include your
voice captured by a microphone or body gestures watched by a webcam. This form of interactive kinetic
artwork, controlled by movements as seen by a computer, can be very difficult to do well, however. Some
very sophisticated problem−solving is often needed to enable a computer program to identify features from a
webcam. Picking out the brightest or darkest regions in its visual field are easy, but identifying the head or
hand of a performer, especially as it moves and so continually appears to change shape and brightness, is very
hard for a computer to do accurately.
Obviously the whole point about dynamic digital art is to be there, experiencing the energetic performance
and perhaps even directing it yourself. But you can get a feeling for the scope and imagination involved in
digital art in the selection of projects show−cased below. These examples are just a taster of the great variety
of digital art being explored around the world; on stage, on television, in gallery installations, and so on. We
won't go into the mathematical challenges posed by the pieces here a great deal more information can be
gathered by following the links to the artists' websites, and the reading list below has links to Plus articles that
explore relevant pieces of mathematics. But for now, just sit back and enjoy the show.
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Digital art
WithoutTitle
WithoutTitle by LIA. Click on the image to open a new window and interact with the piece.
For a relatively simple computer program (using Processing), this digital art piece by LIA generates strikingly
beautiful output. Click on the image above to follow a link to WithoutTitle, and use your mouse to interact
with the animation. A dense thicket of lines swarm around the current position of your cursor, and moving
around the screen affects how the lines expand and contract. See LIA's website for more information.
R.E.M. Animal
A still from the video for R.E.M.'s Animal.
WithoutTitle
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Digital art
One recent example of responsive digital art on television was demonstrated within the music video to
R.E.M.'s single Animal. A total eclipse of the Sun reveals to the lead singer, Michael Stipe, a whole hidden
world of connections and energy lines lying beneath the reality that we are normally restricted to seeing.
Figures walking around trail glowing auras, and as Stipe floats in the air singing, his body movements are
picked out by the flickering of glowing stars, transiently linking together into constellations.
The post−production for this music video uses a lot of digital art techniques, such as driving the dynamic
star graphics to interact with the singers. The applet on the left, created by Ryan Alexander using
Processing, produces the flowing constellation effect. You can interact with it by passing your cursor over
the image. Find out more about Star Nursery on the Processing website.
Shadow Monsters
Shadow Monsters is an interactive installation set up in 2005 that invites viewers to use their hands and arms
to project shadow creatures, such as the classic opening−and−closing puppet mouth, onto a white screen.
These shadows are monitored in real time by a camera−enabled computer, which then acts to reinterpret the
shadow. The silhouettes of monsters are dynamically created from any shadows falling on the screen,
complete with rows of teeth, tentacles, and bristling spines along their back. These monstrous creations are
then re−projected onto a large viewing screen, just as if the "performers" had actually been casting the
shadows themselves. Even better, the computer program generates realistic sound effects of squeaks and roars
from the hand gestures as it senses the puppet shadows opening and closing their mouths. It's hard to think of
an example of interactive digital art that's more instantly engaging and fun! Check out the video of a shadow
monster performance below, or view the still images in the monster zoo on the creator's website.
Click on the image to see the movie in a new window.
Shadow Monsters
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Digital art
Messa di Voce
Messa di Voce is an audio−visual performance created by a team of four artists, some sections of which were
later recreated as installations for the general public to experience directly. The title, Messa di Voce, is Italian
for a vocal technique used by singers, meaning "placing the voice", and is very apt for the unbelievable vocal
skills demonstrated by the performance artists here. The speech, singing, and other sound effects created by
the two performers are used, along with a video camera following their movements around the stage, as input
fed into custom digital art software which generates dynamic visualisations and projects them onto a screen.
The stunning effect for the audience is of the artists' voices literally coming alive, the colourful sounds
emanating away from their mouths in different magical ways.
The original performances ran in 2003 and 2004, but they have been well−documented in photos and videos
that you can view online. Click on the image below to open a video in a new window. This incredible digital
art really does need to be seen to be believed!
Click on the image to see the movie in a new window.
Messa di Voce
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Digital art
Get involved!
Much of the digital art show−cased above was created using a new programming language called Processing.
This was created at the MIT Media Lab as a collaboration between computer scientists and artists, specifically
to make programming as easy and intuitive as possible. This means you'll have absolutely no difficulty in
getting hold of this software, learning a little bit about computer programming and getting stuck in creating
stunning visual art yourself! Processing can be downloaded for free, and is a very small package to install. It
comes with a help file to get you started, but the best source of information for learning the basics, or brushing
up on more advanced features if you've programmed before (Processing is based on Java), is to explore the
manual and discussion boards on their excellent website. Lots of digital artists have uploaded the computer
code from their creations, so you should be able to pick and choose bits to mash up your very own digital art
piece in next to no time. There are also a few new books about Processing, aimed at both beginners and more
experienced digital artists / computer scientists. You might like to try these two as a first port−of−call.
Processing A Programming Handbook for Visual Designers and Artists,
by Casey Reas and Ben Fry
This handbook, written by the guys that created Processing, is an excellent reference for getting started. Early
chapters explain the very basics of computer programming, such as performing calculations, taking inputs,
and drawing graphics to the screen, even in 3D. The book demonstrates just how easy it is to get
sophisticated−looking animations up and running.
At the end of every section, sample programs demonstrating the techniques you have just learned are provided
for you to experiment with, and examples of the more complex projects produced by professional digital
artists are shown. The final chapters cover more technical applications, such as integrating your digital art
software with electronic circuit boards and even mobile phones. The appendices contain quick−look guides,
for example to ASCII codes.
Visualizing Data Exploring and Explaining Data with the Processing
Environment, by Ben Fry
Get involved!
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Digital art
As you will have gathered from this article, much of the use of computers within visual art is in generating
some form of data set, perhaps from tracking the movements of a performer or sounds recorded from a
microphone, manipulating or transforming the data, and then displaying it for an audience, on a projection
screen for example. One of the key steps in this process is the visualisation of the data, which is covered well
in this second book.
If you have had your interest in Processing piqued by the Programming Handbook, then this is a good book
to continue your learning with. Visualizing Data contains much more on the details of programming with
Processing; using colour−coding, accessing databases, and so on. This makes it an excellent resource book for
those already comfortable with Processing, but perhaps not as a first book, unless you have had experience
with similar languages such as Java before.
Processing Creative coding and Computational Art by Ira Greenberg
Ira Greenberg has had a diverse career, from painting to programming, and in this book perfectly provides for
the needs of both artists and mathematicians learning how to create digital art. The book kicks off with a little
history of mathematical and computational art, which helps set the scene for what can be accomplished using
Processing. Chapter 3 covers all the standard programming fayre of variables, arrays, loops, if statements,
functions, and so on. But of course, the major strength of Processing is in the ease with which stunning
images and animations can be generated, and Greenberg wastes no time getting the reader into this more fun
material.
Greenberg builds up your confidence from the absolute basics, introducing how to draw points, lines, curves,
polygons, control colour, and arrange objects in repeating patterns around the screen. Chapter 10 moves into
more advanced techniques for shapes and colours (although a lot of the book's figures lose out in the
black−and−white printing), and manipulating loaded−in images for artistic effect. Finally, the book explores
in more depth how to build complex animations and control the user interactions with your digital art piece.
The book is well illustrated, provides a decent review of useful mathematics in the appendix, and contains
much more sample code than either of the two books above.
Processing Creative coding and Computational Art by Ira Greenberg
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Further reading on Plus
The articles Maths goes to the movies and Career interview: Games developer explore some of the
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maths behind computer generated movies and games;
The article Matrix: Simulating the world is a hands−on guide on how to create your own computer
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simulations using Processing;
The article Perfect buildings: The maths of modern architecture looks at visual modelling in
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architecture;
The career interviews Computer music researcher and Audio software engineer explore the
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mathematical challenges posed by computer music;
The article Unveiling the Mandelbrot set looks at the maths behind some stunning fractal imagery;
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Look at the
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Plus archive for more articles on maths in art and music.
About the author
After reading Biological Sciences at Queen's College, Oxford, Lewis Dartnell moved to University College
London's new centre for multidisciplinary science, the Centre for Mathematics &Physics in the Life Sciences
and Experimental Biology (CoMPLEX). Here he completed his PhD in the field of astrobiology using
computer models of the radiation levels on Mars to predict where life could possibly be surviving near the
surface. This summer he is organising the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures on Computer Science.
Lewis has won four national communication prizes, including in the Daily Telegraph/BASF Young Science
Writer Awards. His popular science book Life in the Universe: A Beginner's Guide has been reviewed in Plus.
You can read more of Lewis' work on his website.
Further reading on Plus
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Digital art
Plus is part of the family of activities in the Millennium Mathematics Project, which also includes the NRICH
and MOTIVATE sites.
Further reading on Plus
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