Generating art is easy, but curating art is hard. This series explores the idea that an art auction marketplace can serve as the “fitness landscape” for an evolutionary algorithm. The algorithm creates a series of images, and collectors select which individuals survive to produce offspring.

The Algorithm:

This work extends an existing workflow, applying both generative and evolutionary techniques via hand-coded algorithms. Curated styles of shapes and ribbons are drawn based on underlying rules, with dozens of randomized parameters. Series EEC is defined by variations in ribbon size as a function of distance from the canvas center.

Any image in the series can be bred to create a child whose appearance (phenotype) is determined by its underlying parameters (genotype), randomly modified with each birth (rate of variation). Normally, I breed and curate images only by myself. In this series, I’m extending the environment of selective curation to include the auction marketplace.

Learn more about my process here: https://onlygenerated.art/evolutionary-approach-generative-art/

The Selection:

Progenitor images are listed for auction in groups of 4. One week after all works are published, any open bids are accepted. Images with no bids are burned. The collector who places the highest bid out of all four images triggers the following actions:

1. The winning image will be selected to create a new generation of 4 child images, each resembling the original.
2. The winning bidder may choose to create a name for the new family and write a curator’s note for the title and description of the child NFTs.
3. The new family of NFTs will be minted for auction following the same rules as above.

Series & Edition Details:

Series EEC Family Name: “eecagafilo” Curator’s Note: “This family of progenitors was chosen for its broad display of attributes across ribbon, shape, and color.” Pedigree: a2 (Generation 1, Child 2) Edition 1 of 1