Making

So much of what impacts our lives lies outside of our control. Farmers can’t make it rain, and even if it is predicted in advance, they can’t keep a hailstorm or hurricane from devastating their crops. Economists speak of black swan events — situations that can’t be foreseen. Many believe life itself was created by a series of serendipitous events, while others believe that life was the result of an all-powerful creator. Interestingly, what everyone can agree on is this: Whatever happened when the universe was formed, humanity had very little to do with it. Due to our lack of control and inability to foresee the future, a great deal of time, energy and treasure is spent attempting to calculate the probability of various potential outcomes. Some give in to the unknown and simply cast lots or flip a coin when making critical decisions. The fact is that we never know what the future holds. We don’t even determine whether we take another breath. This doesn’t mean that we don’t have agency. Famers still need to plant their crops in hopes of a successful harvest, and we can exercise to improve our health with the prospects of living longer.

This tension between our agency and our lack of control is explored, expressed, even celebrated, in countless works of art.  For example, Jackson Pollack, when making his splatter paintings did not control the exact placement of the paint on the canvas. However, he did control the stick dripping with paint. He controlled his arm movements, the way he flicked the stick, the color of paint he dipped the stick into, and all these factors had a significant impact on the overall composition. Several artists have taken a step further and made this tension the primary focus of their work and practice — utilizing chance operations or stochastic (random) processes. One such effort is the work shown here entitled Time-Out / Temps Mort, which was developed by Ogrydziak / Prillinger Architects.  It is the result of an exploration that incorporates indeterminant factors within a digital process. They utilizes C++ programing language — a software and script that allows precise, natural forms to emerge. This specific form was generated by controlling and curating random digital processes.