Larry Cuba

Artist
Santa Cruz, CA
Writing computer code is designing a symbolic pattern that generates a visual pattern. An unpredictable composition emerges from a mathematical structure. I collaborate with an animation-producing robot whose behavior I design. Over time, the algorithms, the imagery and the artist, co-evolve.
Two Space
Two Space
00:07:52
Larry Cuba
1979
Two dimensional patterns, like the tile patterns of Islamic temples, are generated by performing a set of symmetry operations (translations, rotations, and reflections) upon a basic figure or tile. Two Space consists of twelve such patterns produced using each of nine different animating figures (12 x 9 = 108 total). Rendered in stark black and white, the patterns produce optical illusions of figure-ground reversal and afterimages of color. Gamelan music from the classical tradition of Java adds to the mesmerizing effect.