Generative Art

Generative art is art created wholly or partly by means of a predetermined autonomous system that often includes an element of randomness or self-determination. The artist sets the rules, algorithm or process and delegates the direct execution of the work to this system — mechanical, mathematical, chemical, biological or, most often, computational. The term is most frequently applied to computer art, in which program code generates images, forms, sound or movement according to defined parameters. The idea of creating by rules is not new: elements of a generative approach can be traced in the musical "dice games" of the Classical era, in the art of ornament, and in the avant-garde's experiments with chance, notably among the Dadaists. However, generative art truly flourished with the advent of computing: the pioneers of the 1960s — Frieder Nake, Georg Nees, Vera Molnár and Manfred Mohr — programmed plotters to create geometric compositions. The artist sets up the system, while the result is partly unpredictable, which raises questions about the role of author, chance and machine in the creative process. Today generative art is experiencing a new surge thanks to algorithms, blockchain platforms and artificial intelligence, remaining one of the most dynamic fields of digital art.