Hans Dehlinger

Professor em. of Industrial Design
University of Kassel, School of Art
Kassel / Berlin, Gemany

My focus is on generative art based on algorithms. The programs I conceive and write result in line drawings, which are executed on pen-plotters. Random variations on parameter sets “contaminate” the outcome in a distinct manner. I am not a mathematician, but the strictness of mathematics, and the inherent structured order of data often received from a mathematical process seem to become visual in the drawings. It is difficult to proof this observation objectively, but in my judgment it is valid.
This is in line with a basic hypothesis I subscribe to: Some kind of order is a necessary condition for any aesthetic event.

fib_14 sd
fib_14 sd
30 x 40 cm
print on paper
2014

The image fib_14 sd is a randomly selected section from the third row of a program run. It is then digitally manipulated and printed on paper. Although the underlying structure from the overall image is taken as generated from the program, the enlarged detail view together with the manipulations generate an entirely different image. However, it is closely related to the original image.

 fib_13_w
fib_13_w
30 x 40 cm
print on paper
2014

The drawings are constructed with the numbers 1-1-2-3 from the Fibonacci sequence. Hence they are mathematically simple, because this sequence is well known. A line-drawing is generated with a program (Python), and its parameter settings determine angel, number of lines in sections, and generation of random parallells. Section-width increases per line according to the Fibonacci numbers. The resulting images are digitally enhanced and printed on paper. The experiments use a mathematically based starting point, and continue with intuitive judgements. As result, a series of strong graphic figures is expected, that are related to each other.
Image fib_13 w shows a typical result of the process: Algorithmic run, then digital enhancement.