sally mckay and lorna mills comments

I finally got to DIA Beacon last week. The place is a trip. It's great big perfect sumptuous church of modernism. Only, the era that's being celebrated is the time when modernism started to unravel around the edges - minimalism and its cousin, conceptual art.

I really love some of Sol LeWitt's wall drawings (some I hate), in particular I didn't want to stop looking at the mathematical pencil grids — Wall Drawing #1085: Drawing Series—Composite, Part I–IV, #1–24, A+B, 1968-2003. These drawings originally took the form of instructions, and it is really pretty wonderful that DIA enacted them. There are two rooms: one with combinations of A, in graphite, and the other with combinations of B.

I bought a postcard. It looks like this.

lewitt postcard

IRL, the drawings shimmer like weird ephemeral scrims. As you get close to them, the patterns emerge and swarm in your eyes. The mathematical concept is palpable, but it's pretty hard (impossible, for me) to actually parse. Instead, the thin little lines of graphite on the white wall take on an incredibly material presence through the tiny, constrained wobbles of the disciplined hand of the brave soul who took on the task of following LeWitt's recipe. At the same time, the patterns play optical tricks, creating illusions of depth, colour and movement. It's a pretty visceral experience for something that is supposed to be conceptual. More art evidence that ideas and bodies are inseparable.

Anyhow, when it was time to leave I wasn't done yet. So I decided to make some Sol LeWitt homage animated gifs. Unfortunately these were a lot more fun to make than they are to look at. I started trying to figure out the math by trial and error. That didn't work out so well. VB helped me grasp a system, and so now I can confidently assert that the animated gifs above represent every possible combination of A, and every possible every possible combination of B.

(NOTE: LeWitt's drawings are more complicated because he's grouping his quadrants into quadrants. So there's no way the images at DIA can be complete sets.)

more LeWitt inspired gifs here and here

back to sally mckay and lorna mills

void setup() {
size(400, 400);
stroke(80);
}
void draw() {
background(250);
float gridsize = width / 20;
for (int i = 0; i< width; i += gridsize) {
line(i, 0, i, height);
}

for (int i = 0; i< height; i += gridsize) {
line(0, i, width, i);
}
for (int i = -width; i< width; i += gridsize) {
line(i, 0, i + width, height);
}
for (int i = 0; i< height * 2; i += gridsize) {
line(0, i, width, i - height);
}
}
- joester (guest) 1-20-2012 12:31 am

I would never write that without getting paid.
- L.M. 1-20-2012 12:55 am

what does it look like?
- sally mckay 1-20-2012 1:04 am

IF U DID RITE DAT UD PROBABLY GIT FIRD. I HAD 4 LOOPS ALL CYCLIN THRU TEH SAME VALUEZ. SLOPPY. HEERS TAEK 2.

VOID SETUP() {
SIZE(400, 400);
STROKE(80);
}

VOID DRAW() {
BAKGROUND(250);
FLOAT GRIDSIZE = WIDTH / 20;

4 (INT I = 0; I< WIDTH; I += GRIDSIZE) {
LINE(I, 0, I, HEIGHT);
LINE(0, I, WIDTH, I);
LINE(I, 0, I + WIDTH, HEIGHT);
LINE(I-WIDTH, 0, I, HEIGHT);
LINE(0, I, WIDTH, I - HEIGHT);
LINE(0, I + HEIGHT, WIDTH, I );
}
}

- joester (guest) 1-20-2012 4:58 am

http://faculty.purchase.edu/joseph.mckay/lewit.html
- joester (guest) 1-20-2012 5:20 am

MAH CEILIN CAT DAT LOOKZ CRAPPY. I FORGOT "SMOOTH()"

- joester (guest) 1-20-2012 5:28 am

It looks nice. But not moving.
- sally mckay 1-20-2012 3:24 pm

Joe, I don't read other people's code without getting paid.
- L.M. 1-20-2012 3:42 pm

YEZ YEZ LORNA, GO BAK 2 FLASH AN DRIFT OFF 2 SLEEP. IM SURE FLASH WILL BE THAR FOREVR. EVRYTHINGS FINE. NOTHIN 2 WORRY BOUT. SLEEEEEEEEP.
- joester (guest) 1-21-2012 4:46 am

@SALLY FHHT: DO IT YOURSELF. I HAS DRAWN TEH BLOODIN TING IN DA DRAW FUNCSHUN, JUS ITERATE SUM VARIABLEZ AN BE DUN WIF IT.

- joester (guest) 1-21-2012 4:48 am

Do go on. Please.
- L.M. 1-21-2012 2:17 pm

ABUSE OF POWER COMES AS NO SURPRISE.
- joester (guest) 1-21-2012 6:57 pm

[More fun than TV]
- L.M. 1-21-2012 7:33 pm

lewit
- VB 1-23-2012 12:01 am

I'm sure the best for you chanel 2011 and get big save chanel handbags 2011 for more
- zonsecharis (guest) 2-04-2012 11:32 pm

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