Variation, Expressiveness And Artistic Approach
Courtesy: San Base
Merriam-Webster defines 'art' as "the conscious use of skill and creative imagination especially in the production of aesthetic objects." While the value one gets out of a particular piece may vary greatly from person to person, art has the amazing ability to stir up the emotions of one individual while relaxing another.
There has been debate in some artistic circles about whether the process San Base uses can be considered art. While this is a topic for the forums, some artists contend that since the computer "created" the finished work, the pieces that San Base generates are not art but rather a computer's rendition of programming code. Using the same set of criteria, though, one could likewise question the output of renowned artists such as Jackson Pollock, who used a canvas on the ground, a can of paint and gravity for pieces like "Lavender Mist". Pollock's work is in a style that Pollock called "Action Painting," and just as it is very much art, San Base's Dynamic Painting is likewise an extension of the creative process.
Unlike most artisans who purchase their paint, canvas, brushes, film, and lenses, San Base uses a dumb machine and pours his thoughts and intent into it via programming to create something vibrant. Utilizing the computational horsepower of modern graphics cards, San Base has to create all of the shaders, algorithms, procedures, and blend them in a way that generates a final product, much like artisans of old had to create all of their own materials.
The argument is not that San Base must do a lot of work to generate his images; on the contrary, it stems from the amount of control he has over the work the computer does. We asked him to explain a little about his involvement in the composition of each piece.
