About "Walk in Progress #0"

The joint exhibition "Guo Xuehu and Digital Generative Artists—Landscape Dialogue Across a Century" that I participated in at the end of 2023 opened successfully. The exhibition is not over yet, but I can safely record this work.

Select theme

The main theme of the exhibition is a dialogue with Guo Xuehu's works. Invited artists can choose one or more works as the theme. Because my last work happened to be " Taiwan Architectural Memory ", so when I was looking up his works, I saw "South Street Yin Zan" which depicts a contemporary street scene and immediately decided that it was the one.

I was very excited and thought, "If Guo Xuehu was a modern generative artist, I wonder how he would do the Nanjie relief work?"

Although the decision was made quickly, I actually didn’t know how to start for a long time after I agreed. Seeing that there were less than two months left, I also considered whether to use a more familiar method to draw (such as painting octopus , Simple layer stacking such as coral), or choose other works that are easier to transform.

Pre-production

Later, I figured out a suitable method for making this work. It was neither simple layer stacking nor running in a real 3D space like " Turtle Perspective ", but converting 3D coordinates into 2D in JavaScript. Then use 2D points to directly draw the projected polygon. The method of calculating perspective is also very simple. I imagined the single-point perspective commonly used in sketching, and then extended the formula for calculating coordinates.

After finding the method, I quickly drew a rough prototype and randomly matched colors, but at this stage there was no generation process. I have always regarded the generation process as one of the most important elements of my works, so I started thinking about how this work should be generated. (This is the only time in my current production experience that I started production without thinking about the generation process first)

Temporality (short term)

When I got to know Guo Xuehu, the first thing that impressed me deeply was the medium he used. At that time, it was also called "glue color" of Oriental painting, which was very labor-intensive. After drawing the line draft, you don't directly color it. Instead, you need to first draw a color draft with ink or the like (you may choose the color through this step), and finally use glue to finish the draft on paper or silk. Moreover, you have to grind the glue and mix it yourself before using it. I admire the spiritual power of using this medium for a long time, so I thought I should integrate the "temporality" of painting glue into this time. During the production process, I came up with the idea of ​​​​generating it sequentially from line draft → color draft → final draft.

To convert the original drawing results from p5 into the three-stage generation process, the performance would be completely ineffective without converting to WebGL. So I later used p5 to only calculate the position and color of the polygon and pass it to regl, and the color post-production was handed over to regl. The shader can make many changes.

The biggest problem encountered at this stage is the display of text, because p5 can directly render text with text , but to throw it into WebGL, you need to first read the path of the text, obtain the nodes on the path, and finally perform triangulation (transform a polygon cut into several small triangles) to get the correct result.

Temporality (long term)

At this stage of the work, the original goal has actually been achieved, but the wrong calculation results gave me the inspiration to make the Honkai Impact version, so I re-thought the issue of time.

"When is a work considered complete?" has always been a subjective issue for the creator, but some things will change over the years. For example, a new leather goods you just bought may take a few years to suddenly notice its condition. " Finished; the paint will deteriorate over the years, fading or even peeling off over time. Is it possible for me to make work that brings this sense of longer time into play? So I looked at Nanjie Yinzhai again, and I was shocked to realize that none of the signboards he recorded at that time were now there.

Then I started thinking about the longevity of artwork. Generally, works can last for hundreds of years if they are repaired regularly, right? NFT (web page form) is said to be there forever after being put on the chain (not discussing whether IPFS exists yet); but even if NFT does not die, the browser will wither. I don’t know if blockchain technology will still exist a hundred years from now, but will there still be browsers that can open my works? If people in the future are humane enough, maybe someone will put an antique Mac from 2023 in their virtual consciousness to open contemporary NFTs and do research?

The fourth stage "Hengkai" has a reason for existence. I would like to compare it to the deterioration of traditional media, but the visual expression is not fading but shifting position. The reason is that the most common situation in digital works (such as web pages 20 years ago) is running version. The meaning conveyed by the picture is that the signboards have been dissociated over time, and the signboards that echoed the Yinzui on South Street are no longer there.

name

The above-mentioned exploration of temporality is also the origin of the title of the work. The generative art circle is very accustomed to sharing WIP (Work in Progress) on Twitter, which is a screenshot of the work in progress. If we look at urban development (civilization) as a kind of work, then Nanjie Yin Zhen’s and my works can be regarded as two WIPs that are nearly a hundred years apart. So I named it "Walk in Progress". This work has plans to continue to develop, so I added the number #0.

NFT

Finally, I also brought timeliness to the NFT version . One week before the release of this work, the picture will be generated to the line draft. After more than a week, it will be generated to the color draft stage, and it will not be until more than a month later that the final draft is produced. Then 93 years later (the time of Nanjie Yinzhai), the collapse will occur. This questions the permanence of NFT, and at the same time, we hope that there will still be people talking to our works in the future. (Although 80% of the dialogue is with Guo, if my work is still remembered in five years, I will be very happy)

The ps NFT version consumes a lot of CPU and GPU performance. It will freeze when you first open it. The phone may have to wait another five years.

Later I thought that the lifespan of a work of art has nothing to do with deterioration, damage or loss. Works that are not discussed or remembered are considered dead. Occasionally there will be resurrections after many years.

Extended work: "WIP 3D"

It happened to be my birthday two days before the opening of the exhibition. My wife gave me a great birthday gift in advance. I was busy at the time. I originally wanted to make it before the opening of the exhibition, but the film was delayed for a few days. Fortunately, it was successful in the end, and the effect was great and suitable for this work. The wife who came up with this plan is really a genius.

This gift is called View-Master, which can be said to be the oldest VR device. A roulette disk is inserted in the middle. Each roulette disk can hold 7 sets of slides (a total of 14 slides for the left and right eyes). It will actually have a 3D effect when viewed. The roulette content seen on the market is probably early cartoons or photos of local scenery.

The slides used color positive films. At first, I thought it would be enough to print them on transparent films, but when I put them in, I could only see very thick dots. I visited several old photo studios and they all told me that there were no photo studios in Taiwan that were doing photo printing anymore, so I finally found a studio that developed film negatives. I would like to thank the studio " Whatevergraphy Film Studio " for helping me reprint and develop the film.

If you want to experience this work, you can participate in our upcoming " "Series": Volume DAO - fxhash Art Salon and Community Day " on the 15th of this month or on the 23rd, we will meet with Guo Xuehu's son Guo Songnian at Zuncai Art Gallery Talk about it, I will also take it to the scene.

postscript

There was a time during the painting process that I was very irritated, because the chaotic street scene really looked like a Taiwanese street scene (the colors were much different from my initial stage, because most Taiwanese signboards are red, white and blue), and I thought about how recently I painted them. Some people began to discuss why Taiwan’s street scenes are ugly. I also find it ugly, but the chaotic vitality of Taiwan is a great subject and nourishment for generative art to me.

This is the first time I have participated in an art gallery exhibition, and it is also the first time I have printed a generative art work on a flat surface as large as 60 x 100cm. I think people who write about generative art should try to print at such a large size once, so as to prepare for future projects. The work will be very inspiring.

When encountering various technical difficulties during the production process, I would like to escape or be lazy and do other things temporarily, and then magically I will receive a message from Guo Xuehu. For example, it’s rare to find time to go out to dinner with friends, and I can’t avoid seeing

Or maybe my wife borrowed a book by Mitsuru Nishikawa from the library and wanted to find other books by him on amazon.jp , but it showed up again.

It is truly a great piece of work that has not been forgotten even after all this time. I am honored to have the experience of exhibiting on the same wall as such an artist. I would also like to express my gratitude to akaSwap and Zuncai Art Center and its related people for making this exhibition happen.

The exhibition will not end until mid-January. If you want to see the painting process or the details of the big picture, you are welcome to go and have a look. There were also many wonderful works by other artists on site.

Guo Xuehu and digital generative artists—a dialogue with landscapes spanning a century

Kuo Hsueh-Hu and Generative Artists: Landscape Across Centuries

KUO Hsueh Hu

Aluan Wang

Lin, Jinyao

Huang XinNewyellow

Chen I-chun

Chen PuChen Pu

Liu NaitingLiu Naiting

Exhibition period: 2023.12.09 (Saturday)-2024.01.14 (Sunday)

Venue: Liang Gallery, Zuncai Art Center