Acrylic on paper, 29.75 x 25.5” framed.

This Should Get You Closer to What You Need is a series of paintings created with a robotic pen plotter. The robot follows instructions produced by a generative algorithm that creates a unique output each time it runs. The seven paintings in this series are a representative sample of the program’s output and a physical manifestation of the algorithms that power it.

Thousands of line forms layer on top of each other, producing moiré interference patterns: the emergent properties of shape and color, paint and paper. Individually each form is simple, but when combined complex shades and textures emerge.

For this series, I tried to control the arrangement of higher-order structures to evoke dreamlike imagery that I often recall when falling asleep: undulating hills, roiling waves, sea spray, moss, darkness, light.

These flickering images I perceive are themselves the emergent property of a hundred billion interconnected neurons firing tiny electrical pulses in my brain. Individually, each neuron has limited capabilities. But together they produce consciousness; hopes, dreams, fears. You. Me.

A selection of paintings from this series is currently available for purchase at The Compound Gallery in Emeryville, CA.