Click for more images
For Reas (b. 1972) software is not a tool for reworking data such as a
digital photo, but the wriiting of the concept in text and code is the
core of the artwork.
Inspired by Sol Le Witt who has written down instructions in the form of text for his famous wall drawings that were then executed by third persons, Casey Reas is expanding his conceptional approch. In software art generative software procedure replace the human hand following the precise instructions of the artist. The center of the work is the process according to Reas' famous instruction: "Define a process and translate it into an image". The concept of the artist is written as a text in English language leaving a large space for interpretation. When transferring the text into a programming language, very divers aethetical results can be evoked depending on the chosen programming language and the person transferring the text into an image. This was subject to Reas' research by his artwork {Software}Structures that was commissioned by the Whitney-Museum in New York in 2004 (see: http://artport.whitney.org/commissions/softwarestructures/).
In the Process series Reas has explored the relationship between naturally evolved and artificial systems. Organic forms are emerging from precise mechanical instructions. The images visualise systems moving or at rest. Reas is transferring his software pieces into different media such as projection, images or sculptures. Each material highlights a different aspect of the software.
Instructions for Process 13: Bisect a rectangular surface and define the dividing line as the origin for a large group of Element 1. When each Element moves beyond the surface, move its position back to the origin. Draw a line from the centers of Elements that are touching. Set the value of the shortest possible line to black and the longest to white, with varying grays representing values in between.
(using Element 1 from the Library: Form: Circle + Behaviour: Move in a straight line + Constrain to surface + Change direction while touching another Element + Move away from an overlapping Element)
Implemented by Casey Reas
Fall 2009, Summer 2010
Processing 1.0
"During the last seven years, I have continuously refined the system of Forms, Behaviors, Elements, and Processes. The phenomenon of emergence is the core of the exploration and each artwork builds on previous works and informs the next. The system is idiosyncratic and pseudoscientific, containing references ranging from the history of mathematics to the generation of artificial life."
Casey Reas from the catalogue „Process Compendium 2004-2010“
For their open source software Processing that is meanwhile taught at numerous art academies Reas was awarded in 2005 together with Ben Fry the Golden Nica of Ars Electronica. His works have been shown internationally, at the Victoria & Albert Museum, Institute for Contemporary Art (London), New Museum for Contemporary Art (New York), NTT ICC (Tokyo), Künstlerhaus Wien, LAboral Gijon, ZKM (Karlsruhe), Zendai Museum of Modern Art in Shanghai, Telic (Los Angeles), BANK (Los Angeles), Eyebeam (New York), CCCB (Barcelona), STUK (Leuven), National Museum for Art, Architecture and Design (Oslo), amongst others.
Reas lives and works in Los Angeles where he is professor at the UCLA, Arts Deparment.
Inspired by Sol Le Witt who has written down instructions in the form of text for his famous wall drawings that were then executed by third persons, Casey Reas is expanding his conceptional approch. In software art generative software procedure replace the human hand following the precise instructions of the artist. The center of the work is the process according to Reas' famous instruction: "Define a process and translate it into an image". The concept of the artist is written as a text in English language leaving a large space for interpretation. When transferring the text into a programming language, very divers aethetical results can be evoked depending on the chosen programming language and the person transferring the text into an image. This was subject to Reas' research by his artwork {Software}Structures that was commissioned by the Whitney-Museum in New York in 2004 (see: http://artport.whitney.org/commissions/softwarestructures/).
In the Process series Reas has explored the relationship between naturally evolved and artificial systems. Organic forms are emerging from precise mechanical instructions. The images visualise systems moving or at rest. Reas is transferring his software pieces into different media such as projection, images or sculptures. Each material highlights a different aspect of the software.
Instructions for Process 13: Bisect a rectangular surface and define the dividing line as the origin for a large group of Element 1. When each Element moves beyond the surface, move its position back to the origin. Draw a line from the centers of Elements that are touching. Set the value of the shortest possible line to black and the longest to white, with varying grays representing values in between.
(using Element 1 from the Library: Form: Circle + Behaviour: Move in a straight line + Constrain to surface + Change direction while touching another Element + Move away from an overlapping Element)
Implemented by Casey Reas
Fall 2009, Summer 2010
Processing 1.0
"During the last seven years, I have continuously refined the system of Forms, Behaviors, Elements, and Processes. The phenomenon of emergence is the core of the exploration and each artwork builds on previous works and informs the next. The system is idiosyncratic and pseudoscientific, containing references ranging from the history of mathematics to the generation of artificial life."
Casey Reas from the catalogue „Process Compendium 2004-2010“
For their open source software Processing that is meanwhile taught at numerous art academies Reas was awarded in 2005 together with Ben Fry the Golden Nica of Ars Electronica. His works have been shown internationally, at the Victoria & Albert Museum, Institute for Contemporary Art (London), New Museum for Contemporary Art (New York), NTT ICC (Tokyo), Künstlerhaus Wien, LAboral Gijon, ZKM (Karlsruhe), Zendai Museum of Modern Art in Shanghai, Telic (Los Angeles), BANK (Los Angeles), Eyebeam (New York), CCCB (Barcelona), STUK (Leuven), National Museum for Art, Architecture and Design (Oslo), amongst others.
Reas lives and works in Los Angeles where he is professor at the UCLA, Arts Deparment.