Exploring Grids: Functionality and Abstraction
As I continued my research, I decided to explore grids in more detail. Reading Brockmann's book, I learned about the functional and organizational role of grids. It made me wonder—what if we break their structure and introduce abstraction or unpredictability? While I haven’t figured out the answer yet, I hope to discover it through coding experiments.
I also came across Mikhail Mansion's article, "Grids in Nature, Design and Generative Art," which gave me a new perspective on grids. Mansion explains how grids appear everywhere—not just in art and design, but also in nature, like in crystal patterns, brain cells, and the compound eyes of insects. Historically, grids have been used for centuries, from city layouts in ancient Babylon to modern cities like New York. In art, Rosalind Krauss described grids as a defining feature of Modernism, starting in France, Russia, and Holland, and later becoming central to modern art.
What inspired me most was how grids can be used in generative art. They provide a starting point, where each grid cell can be used to run computations. These computations can create complex patterns, like vector fields or organic curves, by using grid coordinates in creative ways. Mansion also pointed out that grids don’t have to remain visible—they can evolve into something abstract, with changes in color, line weight, or shape, pushing the final results far beyond the basic grid structure.
For me, this is a really exciting idea. Grids are not just about structure and precision—they can be a tool for creativity and randomness. This idea connects to my goal of breaking the predictability of grids and making them more abstract and dynamic. I plan to use these concepts in my next steps, experimenting with how grids can act as a foundation for generative art while allowing space for unpredictability and creative freedom.
Sources
- Mansion, M. (2023a, May 13). Grids in nature, design and generative art - creative pinellas. Creative Pinellas. https://creativepinellas.org/magazine/grids-in-nature-design-and-generative-art/
- Müller-Brockmann, J. (n.d.). Grid systems in Graphic design.
- An introduction to grid based generative art. (n.d.). https://docs.kogics.net/tutorials/generative-art-grid-intro.html
- Misha.studio. (2023, February 17). Process(ing): Generative Irregular Grid - Misha.studio - Medium. Medium. https://medium.com/@misha.studio/process-ing-generative-irregular-grid-8f0d712dfaa4