Description
Introduction to creative coding, algorithmic drawing, and computational media. The lecture establishes the relationship between historical drawing theories (Kandinsky, Bauhaus) and procedural code structures (variables, coordinate space, loops, functions).
Key Concepts & Historical Context
- Atomic Visual Syntax: How basic visual elements—points, lines, planes, and colors—function as formal computational primitives.
- Conceptual & Instructional Drawing: The relationship between instructional scores (Sol LeWitt), natural language programs (Software Structures), and machine execution.
- Optical Mixing vs. Pixel Grid: How Pointillism and Georges Seurat prefigured modern digital raster displays through Optical Color Mixing.
Core Coding Concepts
- Canvas setup & draw loop (
setup(),draw()) - Cartesian coordinate system & transformation matrix (
translate(),rotate(),scale()) - Color spaces: RGB vs HSB (hue, saturation, brightness for generative palettes)
- Iteration with nested for-loops across spatial grids
References & Wiki Links
- Point, Line, Plane Grammar (Kandinsky)
- Software Structures (Casey Reas)
- Wassily Kandinsky
- Georges Seurat
- Casey Reas