Mitchell Whitelaw, an associate professor at Australian National University, works with data aesthetics and generative systems as a medium for his art. In one of his works, Limit to Growth, based on a report of the economic effects of exponential growth, Whitelaw created a two dimensional generative system through Processing. This program is able to create constraints for itself, creating a visual for the self limiting growth of the economy in contemporary capitalism.
Whitelaw designed his project, Measuring Cup, through Processing, STL, and Meshlab. It was inspired by the changes in temperature data in Sydney, Australia. Average monthly temperatures from 1859 to 2009. The cup visualizes the effects of global warming, through the expansion of the cup towards the top (present times). The cup is marked on the inside in 25 year intervals, similar to how a measuring cup (for cooking) would be marked.
In 2011, Whitelaw revealed Local Colour, a project that was executed in two parts, through diagrams that were made using a generative system created through Processing. The diagrams were based on network science- visualizing how new network nodes attach themselves to nodes with the most connections.
The first part: forms that were laser cut from cardboard produce boxes.
The second part: forms made from vinyl cut transfer.
Mitchell Whitelaw and other writers- Jon McCormack, Oliver Bown, Alan Dorin, Jonathan McCabe, and Gordon Monro- in their paper, “Ten Questions Concerning Generative Computer Art,” argue the “possibility of a machine and a human sharing experiences that result in something meaningful and worth communicating” can’t be dismissed. However, artists use generative systems and coding as tools to create works that express a purpose. Machines cannot be original, because they operate on algorithms created by humans. Computers do not experience the feeling of making art because they are inanimate, and they follow human-given instructions to generate art.
Resources:
https://researchers.anu.edu.au/researchers/whitelaw-m
http://mtchl.net/limits-to-growth/
http://mtchl.net/measuring-cup/
http://teemingvoid.blogspot.com/2010/06/measuring-cup.html
http://mtchl.net/local-colour/
http://teemingvoid.blogspot.com/2012/02/local-colour-smaller-world-network.html