An Artistic Algorithm

The Materials

This week, I had the pleasure of beginning my semester as an ARTT 2372 student, as well as beginning to learn how to incorporate technology and digital media while teaching art. Part of this course involves a series of activities called "Material Inquiries," in which myself and my peers are presented with an opportunity to 'play' with various given materials in order to reach a certain goal or simply have fun while learning about said materials.

Today, I will be reviewing my experience with the Roll & Draw Solitaire Material Inquiry concerning algorithms. Pictured above are the materials given to me for this activity: instructions, drawing paper, a die, and a pencil. As per the instructions, I rolled the dice according to the written sequence, found the corresponding numbered box, and marked my paper with what was shown within the box. The process was a bit of a long one, but I gladly took a picture with each new addition to my drawing and added them together to create a time-lapse video found below.

I actually found myself enjoying this activity quite a bit. Even though I didn't quite understand the purpose, I continued through the motions and put effort into making a composition that I found appealing. Furthermore, the overall process was quite relaxing in its repetitiveness. Now, I present the final product!

The Final Product

I believe that this activity has taught me that even the simplest of tasks can be enjoyable for art students. Moreover, during the group discussion in which the class viewed each others interpretations of the activity and talked about them, I learned that each student interpreted the instructions differently. While some of my peers created a collage-like composition just as I did, others made orderly lines in which they drew the shapes according to the sequence in which they rolled their dice. In any case, each and every drawing was different in its own intriguing way.

After my positive experiences with this Material Inquiry, I eagerly look forward to the next ones awaiting me in the future. I think that this activity will be very useful in my future classroom as a way to see my future students' different styles and interpretations just as I observed those of my peers. What's more is, I believe that future Material Inquiries will be just as enlightening, if not more so.

#artt2372

#rollanddraw