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When I first launched my site someone asked me “what’s Algorithmic Art?  I’d like to click on that and hyperlink to a glossary”… well I don’t want to chuck someone out of my site and straight onto a wiki and a glossary is a bit dry to write… hence a blog!

OK, I’m going to talk briefly about maths, 1 paragraph, promise

An algorithm usually a mathematical expression referring to a sequence of steps to figure something out eg. working out the average (mean) of something…

1. add up all the data
2. divide by the number of data elements…

Now before I induce a coma, end of overly simple maths!

So it follows that algorithmic art is a sequence of steps to produce a piece of art.  Here’s a fundamental algorithm for drawing a Celtic tangle.

1. Create a grid
2. Join the dots on the grid to form a network
3. Check that no more than 2 line cross at any point
4. (optionally) check the knot is good, ie forms 1 line or has a long path with ‘no rings’ or short loops
5. Draw lines in parallel with the network lines (leaving gaps near the intersections)
6. Remove the network lines
7. Interlace the knot lines

Simple.  As each step is completed in turn the picture is revealed to the artist as much as the artist is creating it.

There are additional steps that can be applied to this process to create different designs… in time I’ll blog on these I’m sure!!

In the art world an Algorithmist (or algorithmic artist) is someone who creates art from a computer process often involving pseudo random variables (numbers generated by the computer which are very nearly random).  I would argue actually Algorithms are prevalent in art (and many human activities) … maybe it’s fair to say some other examples of Algorithms in art are:

• Photo stencilling: Take photo, cut stencils, choose colours, paint
• Wood carving: 2D design, mark outer edges of wood, cut in (along grain?), fine carving, sanding, varnish
• Impressionist painting: all strokes small and in same direction?
• Young British Artists:  think of outrageous idea, produce art, get response, if outrageous enough continue at step 2, else go-to step 1  (If Data off star trek was a Young British Artist ;-))

Perhaps these are techniques rather than algorithms???  To me an algorithm is a way of describing a mathematical technique to manipulate the world around us.  So why not describe art methods as Algorithms?