Editorial

Matt DesLauriers created the generative art project, Bitframes, which serves as a crowdfund for the production of a feature-length documentary film, Generative, providing historical context to generative art. DesLauriers spoke to Peter Bauman (Monk Antony) about both projects. They also cover the co-creative possibilities of generativity that the projects reveal, as well as how to bridge public understanding and institutional recognition of the art form.

Artist, designer and entrepreneur Hiromi Ozaki—better known as Sputniko!—recently spoke with Peter Bauman (Monk Antony). The artist and multitasker reflects on digital activism, capitalism’s impact on art and building inclusive systems amidst backlash.

Abstraction icon Samia Halaby, whose work has recently been featured at Tate Modern’s Electric Dreams, The 2024 Venice Biennale, MUDAM’s Radical Software: Women, Art & Computing 1960-1991, and Frieze London, spoke with Peter Bauman (Monk Antony). Halaby reflects on her transition from traditional painting to digital art, emphasizing what programming allowed for her practice.

After visiting Mat Dryhurst and Holly Herndon’s The Call at Serpentine Gallery in London, Peter Bauman (Monk Antony) discussed with Dryhurst the theoretical underpinnings of the duo’s practice, how The Call aligns with this framework and invigorating the AI-data discourse.

Tate curator Val Ravaglia spoke with Peter Bauman (Monk Antony) about their major exhibition, Electric Dreams. They explore how artists historically used technology to test its creative potential and challenge its entanglement with unsavory powers while drawing subtle parallels to contemporary culture.

Multidisciplinary artist, Trevor Paglen, discusses the critical role of artists in exposing technology's inherent biases with Peter Bauman (Monk Antony). Paglen emphasizes the need to challenge corporate optimism and reimagine technology beyond capitalist frameworks.‍

Contemporary artists and creative technologists Matt Hall and John Watkinson describe their theory and practice to Peter Bauman (Monk Antony). The pair explains how projects like CryptoPunks and Autoglyphs continue decades-old traditions of web-based creative interventions while revealing the potential of blockchains in art.

Contemporary artist Simon Denny explores the complex relationship between society and technology in a conversation with Peter Bauman (Monk Antony). Denny highlights both the optimistic potential of technology and the critical questions it raises, particularly in how it shapes the creation and experience of cultural narratives.

Joan Heemskerk of the renowned net.art duo JODI undertook a two-month residency between CERN—the birthplace of the World Wide Web—and Copenhagen Contemporary. The resulting work will be part of a show at Copenhagen Contemporary in 2025. Heemskerk spoke to Peter Bauman (Monk Antony) about the residency and its impact on her practice. They also discuss her interest in quantum computing, Web4 and the continued evolution of the web.

Chandler McWilliams of UCLA Arts Conditional Studio is presenting Art and the Internet in LA, a Getty Pacific Standard Time [PST] exhibition in October. The exhibition is informed by the Mirror archive, a collaboration between Casey Reas, Lauren Lee McCarthy and McWilliams. Peter Bauman (Monk Antony) spoke with the trio about how digital technologies intersect with art and society along with the importance of preserving the history of Internet-based art.

In Part 2 of a series on artists using digital systems to subvert gender and sexuality norms, Vienna Kim argues that women and the queer community have played an outsized role in shaping generative art games. Artists employ these mediums to challenge gender and sexuality norms, while creating inclusive spaces within the tech and gaming industries.‍

Rebecca Allen reflects on her pioneering work in digital art with Operator, the experiential artist duo of Ania Catherine and Dejha Ti. They discuss Allen's journey from inventing a new art form in the 1970s and 1980s to refining and integrating human emotion and sensuality into evolving technology from the 1990s onward.

Can art assume the roles traditionally fulfilled by religion in an increasingly secular and digital world? Peter Bauman (Monk Antony) argues that the religiously non-affiliated worship two new gods: technology and randomness. Digital generative art—art fundamentally addressing technology and randomness—may provide the most straightforward means to engage these deities.

John Maeda discusses his multifaceted identity as a technologist, artist and designer with Peter Bauman (Monk Antony). Maeda emphasizes the importance of a multidisciplinary approach to innovation and creativity, while reflecting on the transforming needs of artists in the age of AI.

Computer dance icon Analívia Cordeiro spoke in person with Peter Bauman (Monk Antony) at the Digital Art Mile during Art Basel 2024. The text below is based on—yet extends—their conversation.

Prior to the Herbert W. Franke Foundation’s Generative Art Summit Berlin, Frieder Nake, one of digital art’s first-ever practitioners, spoke with Peter Bauman (Monk Antony). They cover the very origins of algorithmic art, Nake’s role and its evolution to today.

Larry Cuba, the computer film and animation legend featured in textbooks and known for his work on the original Star Wars, has long inspired coded animators, from the demoscene to today. One such artist, Andreas Gysin, joined Peter Bauman (Monk Antony) to celebrate Cuba's illustrious career, its challenges and the progression of his techniques in the context of abstract film.

Cherished icon Jasia Reichardt met with Peter Bauman (Monk Antony) before the Foundation Herbert W. Franke's Generative Art Summit Berlin. The Cybernetic Serendipity curator wrote this text as one of the few people who anticipated our digital future along with Franke in the 1960s. This piece extends the earliest thought on art and AI to the present, as only a singular voice like Reichardt's could.

This is the third part in a series on building a framework for appreciating generative art. In Part I, “Demystifying Generative Art,” Peter Bauman (Monk Antony) builds the case for such a framework. In Part II, “Demystifying Generative Aesthetics,” Bauman examines outputs—the results of generative systems. In Part III, he investigates another layer of the Framework, systems themselves. He spoke to Frieder Nake, Casey Reas, Emily Xie, DEAFBEEF, Matt DesLauriers, Jen Lowe and Patricio González Vivo for the piece.

‍The AI Index 2024 Annual Report by Stanford University—an invaluable publication aiming to enhance understanding of AI through dedicated research—addresses several issues pertinent to the digital art space without dedicating a chapter or even section to it. Peter Bauman (Monk Antony) reviewed the five-hundred-page report to distill the relevant takeaways for the contemporary art world’s collectors, artists and institutions.

Employing John Berger's Ways of Seeing (1974) as a critical lens, Danielle King observes the rise of the algorithmic gaze—the perpetuation of the male gaze into the realm of AI-generated art—underscoring entrenched patriarchal values and the protracted commodification of female bodies.

The exhibition Automat und Mensch: A History of AI and Generative Art in May 2019 anticipated the arrival of AI and generative art. Five years later, Peter Bauman reached out to the show’s gallerist, Kate Vass, and curators, Jason Bailey and Georg Bak, to reflect on the audacious show’s impact and the future it pointed towards.

The co-authors of The Book of Shaders join Peter Bauman (Monk Antony) to discuss the book’s impetus and impact. They also explore how algorithms serve as a dialogue between artists across time.

With work in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Victoria and Albert Museum and more, the acclaimed nonagenarian artist Colette Bangert spoke to Peter Bauman (Monk Antony) about a life spent observing, exploring and collaborating.

For the occasion of Quantum's ten-year anniversary—Jennifer and Kevin McCoy's work that played a pivotal role in early NFT history—Peter Bauman (Monk Antony) spoke to Kevin McCoy about the development of media art since the impactful project and its links to net.art.

Intrigued by Michael Kozlowski's recent visual pivot, Peter Bauman (Monk Antony) had an impromptu chat with the artist, also known as mpkoz. They discuss the unique project that sparked this visual shift, its technical specifics and the implications for Kozlowski's continued trajectory.‍

As Bright Moments concludes its three-year global tour at the 2024 Venice Biennale, they release the ambitious Finale Collection, showcasing the works of over sixty artists on a single contract. Peter Bauman (Monk Antony) engaged with the Bright Moments team and participating artists, delving into the project's key themes and the organization's future. The discussion included Seth Goldstein, Phil Mohun and Samer Dabra (Spongenuity) from Bright Moments, together with artist and Art Blocks Founder Erick Calderon (Snowfro), as well as artists Maya Man, Anna Carreras and Piter Pasma.

‍Acclaimed software artist Matt DesLauriers spoke to Peter Bauman (Monk Antony) about the implications of AI's prevalence. They examine how DesLauriers has begun incorporating AI into his process and how AI challenges our relationship with the image.

In 2014, Vuk Ćosić wrote a memoir-like introduction for the catalog of his exhibition, net.art painters and poets. Ten years later, the text resurfaced during a dialogue between Ćosić and Peter Bauman (Monk Antony). The two decided to revisit the text with Bauman posing casual questions that serve as a vehicle for Ćosić's updated thoughts. It's the memoir of a memoir.

Visual artist Emily Xie spoke with Peter Bauman (Monk Antony) about her close relationship with textiles, their intersection with computation and coded generativity's aesthetic pursuits.

‍This is the second part in a series on building a framework for appreciating generative art. In the first part, “Demystifying Generative Art,” Peter Bauman (Monk Antony) builds the case for such a framework. In this essay, he takes a closer look at one of the five framework components, Results—the outputs of a generative system. Peter spoke to Tyler Hobbs, Kim Asendorf, Andreas Gysin, Leander Herzog, Erick Calderon, William Mapan, Lauren Lee McCarthy, Sougwen Chung, Christiane Paul, Patricio González Vivo, Linda Dounia and Golan Levin for the piece.

In part two of Le Random Editorials' profile on Mark Wilson, we hear from the artist himself. In this brief commentary, Wilson narrates art history as he describes his journey from traditional mediums to digital art, exploring technology for creativity's sake. In this generous insight, Wilson reveals the path that led to his visionary computer-generated aesthetic, both bold and sensitive.

Digital generative art titan Mark Wilson sat down with artist, educator and pixel rug creator Travess Smalley, long-inspired by Wilson. Smalley stewards a lively discussion covering Wilson's artistic journey while reflecting on the impact of technology on art.

How did we transition from art that looks like Leonardo’s Mona Lisa to art like Kim Asendorf’s monogrid? Peter Bauman (Monk Antony) investigates the history of art's mechanization to contemplate the future of digital generativity.

Vera Molnár moved to Paris at the end of 1947 and would call the city home for the rest of her storied life. Use our interactive map to follow in her footsteps across the French capital and discover the entwined narrative of artistic evolution and urban existence that defined her practice.

Human-machine interaction artist aurèce vettier discusses the latent space of dreams and the intersection of human consciousness and AI art with Elisabeth Sweet, using his project le travail des rêves as a starting point.

Artist Linda Dounia spoke with Peter Bauman (Monk Antony) about the potential of AI to combat cultural as well as biological loss, using her project Flore Perdue as a springboard.

Lauren Lee McCarthy, celebrated artist, UCLA professor and creator of p5.js, spoke with Peter Bauman (Monk Antony) about Seeing Voices, her first long-form generative art project. They also discuss collaborating with AI and inclusive community building, while questioning the inherent values embedded in software.

Christiane Paul's curation of the Whitney's Harold Cohen: AARON informs a conversation with Peter Bauman (Monk Antony), where they discuss Cohen's persistent impact to this day while reflecting on the nature of digital expression.

Metapoet and language artist Sasha Stiles sat down with Peter Bauman (Monk Antony) and Conrad House (Nemo Cake) to discuss the integration of words, AI and technology into her own practice, while exploring the historical context of generative poetry.

Maya Lin, celebrated artist, architect and environmental advocate, discusses the concerns of generative art with Peter Bauman (Monk Antony), including her recent foray into the practice, an unexpectedly natural step in her highly awarded and celebrated career.

Artist and educator Golan Levin dips between anecdote and insight with Monk Antony (Peter Bauman), covering Levin's Art Blocks Curated release Cytographia, his drive to unleash the latent capabilities of computers and his role inspiring and promoting open-source art toolkits.

Using the essays of Tyler Hobbs as a reference point, Peter Bauman (Monk Antony) spoke to Hobbs about coded generative art's aesthetics.‍

AGH, the trio of Kim Asendorf, Andreas Gysin and ‍Leander Herzog, spoke with Peter Bauman (Monk Antony) before their debut show in Berlin, covering the group's formation, the digital aesthetic and glorifying the computer.

In conversation with the founder of Art Blocks, Erick Calderon (Snowfro), and founder of fx(hash), Baptiste Crespy (ciphrd), Peter Bauman (Monk Antony) reflects on the trenchant moment that is November 2023 for on-chain generative art.

Peter Bauman (Monk Antony) explores an emerging conceptual shift in on-chain generative art, signaled by the postmodern generative choreography of Operator’s Human Unreadable. Monk then speaks to the duo about the historical influences of the 2023 Lumen Prize-winning project.

After consulting with artists and contacts, Le Random's Peter Bauman (Monk Antony) compiled a poster for Bright Moments Buenos Aires, designed by Qian of Bright Moments. The poster memorializes these ten moments in South American generative art history. The moments can also be found in a permanent section of our larger Generative Art Timeline.

Given the open-ended prompt to manipulate a Le Random editorial page as a blank canvas, Ana María Caballero shares the intimate infrastructure of her project, Paperwork.

Virginia Valenzuela explores generative art's roots in South American concrete art.

William Mapan converses with Peter Bauman (Monk Antony) about the deep connections he maintains with his algorithms.‍

Artist and writer Nathaniel Stern meditates on Jason Ting's Lumina against the backdrop of Marfa's art-rich history and natural wonders.

Multidisciplinary artist Sougwen Chung delves into her unique contributions to the exhibition GEN/GEN: Generative Generations, the evolving discourse on human-machine interconnections and more with Peter Bauman (Monk Antony).

Artist Mark Webster suggests that in order to better understand art’s value, we must be willing to consider the function of craft, including elements of skill less visible or immediate.

Artist, hacker and writer, Rhea Myers, discusses her thoughtful contributions to the group exhibition GEN/GEN: Generative Generations and more with Peter Bauman (Monk Antony). Myers unravels her artistic practice, touching upon code-as-narrative, "Blockchain Aesthetics" and the dialogue between her work and Harold Cohen's AARON.

DEAFBEEF reflects on themes such as the tension between permanence and impermanence in his work HASHMARKS, released through Bright Moments. He also ruminates with Peter Bauman (Monk Antony) on celebrating the singularity of the present plus finding agency in life and art.

Maya Man, an artist focused on contemporary identity culture on the Internet, sat down with Peter Bauman (Monk Antony). Using Man's exhibition and project I'm Feeling Lucky on Verse as a jumping off point, they discuss horoscope culture as a belief system, finding meaning in randomness, the role of humor in art and much more.

Spanning tens of thousands of years, Chapter 1 of our Generative Art Timeline surveys the advancements in art, mathematics, science and computing history that led to the modern era of generative art. This article distills the chapter into ten critical moments.

Le Random commissioned six unique works from Zach Lieberman in 2023 that highlight what we love about the artist: his use of light, geometry and rhythm. We asked Lieberman to give us his thoughts on each of the six pieces, which we are sharing here. 

‍Peter Bauman (Monk Antony) reflects on Philip Galanter's classic 2003 definition of generative art before briefly speaking with the artist, Texas A&M professor and theorist about the definition twenty years later.

Kate Vass, founder of Kate Vass Galerie in Zürich, visits with thefunnyguys in an effort to uncover her motivations and vision for this space.

Resonance can refer to qualities of sound and acoustics as well as the power to evoke deep emotions. Peter Bauman (Monk Antony) speaks with Zach Lieberman, artist, MIT professor and co-founder of openFrameworks, about generative art's relationship to music as well as its ability to make us feel something.

Peter Bauman (Monk Antony) shares the findings from an internal Le Random research memo by Conrad House (Nemocake) on platform proliferation.

Peter Bauman (Monk Antony) develops a framework for appreciating and analyzing generative art—art using autonomous systems in the vein of Sol LeWitt or Yoko Ono—through an investigation of the movement’s locus of artistic intent.

Elisabeth Sweet touches on the history of generative poetry and its impact to this day.

In Part 2 of this two-part conversation, the Le Random team speaks with Casey Reas, artist, UCLA professor and co-founder of Processing and Feral File. We touch on a variety of subjects, including historical generations, the most overlooked decades and the location of artistic intent in generative work.

Peter Bauman (Monk Antony) recently curated the fxhash exhibition, feels like home, in partnership with Non Fungible Conference, 2023.

In Part 1 of this two-part conversation, the Le Random team speaks with Casey Reas: artist, UCLA professor and co-founder of Processing and Feral File. We discuss the history of generative art: the overlooked importance of experimental video art, unexpected catalysts of the movement and more.

On March 8, we publicly announced the launch of Le Random, a digital generative art institution that aims to collect, contextualize, and elevate on-chain generative art.