SimpSymm

SimpSymm / 2014 /

Christoph Bader, Dominik Kolb

SimpSymm is a generative art project that explores the interplay between the digital and the physical sculpture. The heart of this project is our generative/procedural algorithm that creates an infinite variety of aesthetical, digital sculptures that are especially designed for the production with 3D printing. The algorithm is encapsulated in an App with an interface that gives an audience direct controle over the algorithm´s parameters.

The audience changes parameters and the algorithm responds to that by adapting the shape of the sculpture that it is currently creating. This results in an dialog between the user and the software: Parameter changes lead to shape changes that are evaulated by the user whereupon new parameter changes follow, that result in new shape changes until a pleasant artifact is found. The artifact is then brought to life via 3D printing.

SimpSymm encourages the exploration of shapes. The audience does not have to worry how the sculptures are generated. The algorithm does that for them. This way a user can solely focus on the form generation and quickly explore many sculpture variations. The generated sculptures are created in realtime and stay changeable at all times.

The physical sculpture as an artistic medium has almost always been a unique, handcrafted artifact, created during many hours of physical labor. SimpSymm plays with this convention. A unique sculpture can be created within seconds and brought into the physical world wihin just a few hours via 3D printing. The algorithm creates an endless variety of different shapes that all have their very own visual character. This demonstrates the beauty and diversity that can arise from just one algorithm. That´s what SimpSymm is all about, pure generative form exploration.