Don Releya - Generative flowers ii eastwest
2:06, 2010This work was designed to be a very large yet subtle public call for peace.
DirectorDon Releya
CountryUSAEdition2010
< overview
What has lead you to “create the work”?
Generative Flowers II was created for a public outdoor installation at Victory Plaza in Dallas Texas. Victory Plaza has two 50×30 foot HD super screens. The two screens are located opposite each other across a large courtyard in front of the American Airlines Center. Flowers are the central theme of this work and in my culture they are often associated with peace. The rainbow colors hearken back to the 60’s.
This work was designed to be a very large yet subtle public call for peace.
What tools do you use the most at present?
My work is primarily computational now, subsequently I use programming languages like C++ or Open GL or scripting to create my works. As of today I’m primarily using Openframeworks and I still use Adobe Director from time to time.
Generative Flowers II was created in Adobe Director MX 2004. It is a program that can run and generate non repeating video indefinitely.
Could you explain how you work?
I typically come up with an idea or concept then break it down into logical components. Next I build a proof of concept to ensure I am not wasting my time. Once most of the concept is flushed out I start coding the final work.
I have a large family (3 kids) so my time blocks to create my art are fragmented and extremely valuable. I maintain a “to do” list with logical components sorted by estimated completion times (usually 15 minutes to 45 minutes), so when I get 15 minutes of free time I can simply get started coding a component without having to think about what to do next. I also set up a lot of things to happen while I am out, so while I am at the pool with the kids things are rendering or executing back at home. At this point in my life I have a pretty large library of code that I have written. I employ an object oriented coding style so the objects are re-usable and interchangeable between projects. For example, I have spent years on a color theory object that can handle every kind of color request I could need it to, many of my projects use this object.
What themes or concepts are important to you?
I research and explore a wide variety of things but most seem centered around naturally occurring mae of my work has socio-political undertones. Color is very important to me.
What is influencing you?
I am very heavily influenced by natural forms and structures. I live in a green belt in Dallas TX, the nature around me influences me. My kids interest in nature and fossils is playing into my works now as well. We live close to a point where I can take the kids to watch the sunset, the skies here are very dynamic and inspirational. I do a lot of research on other artists in the new media and contemporary spaces and this influences me quite a bit. I was a traditional printmaking major in college and one of the things I carried with me from that experience is a focus on process. I am always thinking about my process and refining it. I have a technology day job where part of my role is to look into future technology and file patents, some of this future thinking creeps into my work. I really enjoy my day job and I think it is good for my art work. Some of the discoveries I make in my art work influence my patent work as well. Artificial intelligence, augmented reality, autonomous agents and automated processes are all areas where there is some overlap. Additionally I make and release dub influenced electronic music as “evilcomputergenius”, some of the political and social themes I explore in my music end up in my art as well. Thematical forms, l-systems, fractals, virtual environments, slit scanning, and time displacement.
< overview
< Artists interviews
CountryUSAEdition2010
< overview
Interview
Generative Flowers II was created for a public outdoor installation at Victory Plaza in Dallas Texas. Victory Plaza has two 50×30 foot HD super screens. The two screens are located opposite each other across a large courtyard in front of the American Airlines Center. Flowers are the central theme of this work and in my culture they are often associated with peace. The rainbow colors hearken back to the 60’s.
This work was designed to be a very large yet subtle public call for peace.
What tools do you use the most at present?
My work is primarily computational now, subsequently I use programming languages like C++ or Open GL or scripting to create my works. As of today I’m primarily using Openframeworks and I still use Adobe Director from time to time.
Generative Flowers II was created in Adobe Director MX 2004. It is a program that can run and generate non repeating video indefinitely.
Could you explain how you work?
I typically come up with an idea or concept then break it down into logical components. Next I build a proof of concept to ensure I am not wasting my time. Once most of the concept is flushed out I start coding the final work.
I have a large family (3 kids) so my time blocks to create my art are fragmented and extremely valuable. I maintain a “to do” list with logical components sorted by estimated completion times (usually 15 minutes to 45 minutes), so when I get 15 minutes of free time I can simply get started coding a component without having to think about what to do next. I also set up a lot of things to happen while I am out, so while I am at the pool with the kids things are rendering or executing back at home. At this point in my life I have a pretty large library of code that I have written. I employ an object oriented coding style so the objects are re-usable and interchangeable between projects. For example, I have spent years on a color theory object that can handle every kind of color request I could need it to, many of my projects use this object.
What themes or concepts are important to you?
I research and explore a wide variety of things but most seem centered around naturally occurring mae of my work has socio-political undertones. Color is very important to me.
What is influencing you?
I am very heavily influenced by natural forms and structures. I live in a green belt in Dallas TX, the nature around me influences me. My kids interest in nature and fossils is playing into my works now as well. We live close to a point where I can take the kids to watch the sunset, the skies here are very dynamic and inspirational. I do a lot of research on other artists in the new media and contemporary spaces and this influences me quite a bit. I was a traditional printmaking major in college and one of the things I carried with me from that experience is a focus on process. I am always thinking about my process and refining it. I have a technology day job where part of my role is to look into future technology and file patents, some of this future thinking creeps into my work. I really enjoy my day job and I think it is good for my art work. Some of the discoveries I make in my art work influence my patent work as well. Artificial intelligence, augmented reality, autonomous agents and automated processes are all areas where there is some overlap. Additionally I make and release dub influenced electronic music as “evilcomputergenius”, some of the political and social themes I explore in my music end up in my art as well. Thematical forms, l-systems, fractals, virtual environments, slit scanning, and time displacement.
< overview
