Algorithmic Art - The Role of The Algorithm

The Role of The Algorithm

For a work of art to be considered algorithmic art, its creation must include a process based on an algorithm devised by the artist. Here, an algorithm is simply a detailed recipe for the design and possibly execution of an artwork, which may include computer code, functions, expressions, or other input which ultimately determines the form the art will take. This input may be mathematical, computational, or generative in nature. Inasmuch as algorithms tend to be deterministic, meaning that their repeated execution would always result in the production of identical artworks, some external factor is usually introduced. This can either be a random number generator of some sort, or an external body of data (which can range from recorded heartbeats to frames of a movie.) Some artists also work with organically based gestural input which is then modified by an algorithm.

By this definition, algorithmic art is not to be confused with graphical methods such as generating a fractal out of a fractal program; it is necessarily concerned with the human factor (one's own algorithm, and not one that is pre-set in a package). The artist must be concerned with the most appropriate expression for their idea, just as a painter would be most concerned with the best application of colors. By this definition, defaulting to something like a fractal generator (and using it for all or most of your creations) would in essence be letting the computer dictate the form of the final work, and not truly be a creative art. The artist's self-made algorithms are an integral part of the authorship, as well as being a medium through which their ideas are conveyed.