A place to talk about art on Farcaster. Artwork created by jacob.eth

Did you know one of the first generative artists never wrote a line of code? 
A thread on Sol LeWitt, an influential artist most have never heard of.

Back in the '60s, Sol LeWitt had an idea. And to him, an idea was the most important thing. He would write instructions for others to follow instead of creating the art himself. So, how did he make sure the art ended up like he wanted?

He didn't. The creators of the physical artwork were free to interpret the instructions in their own way. Two people might interpret the instructions differently. So, how does this relate to generative art?

With generative art, creative coders write instructions for computers to follow (e.g., JavaScript + p5.js). Like someone interpreting Sol's instructions, the computer executes the code and adds randomness, making the final art unpredictable.

This lets anyone own a piece of the idea. Those who carried out Sol's instructions own a part of the output, just like collectors who mint generative art NFTs.
Some say this makes the planning more important than execution itself.

AI advancements have made this concept even more timely. Anyone can create artistic images, videos, and audio using just a few words. 
Media will become commoditized. What’s more valuable is the idea, the intention, and the meaning behind it.

“The idea becomes a machine that makes the art.”
Sol LeWitt, 1967-2007

With generative art, creative coders write instructions for computers to follow (e.g., JavaScript + p5.js). Like someone interpreting Sol's instructions, the computer executes the code and adds randomness, making the final art unpredictable. 