code.x

CODE.X is an experiment in algorithmic art processing. The concept was developed in 2006, rendered in 2007, and then set aside until 2013 when I was invited by Adrienne Crossman to be part of an exhibition. This was a most propitious and resonant opportunity. (Code “X”; X = cruciform, a cross. Adrienne Crossman; an exhibit in 2013, 06 + 07 = 13; a book (codex) of these images; an X processed by code = book/codex, hence: code.x) The theme of CODE.X is fairly simple: it begins with an “X”, and exposes it to simple but precisely defined parameters using the Wave Filter in Photoshop. Each parameter for amplitude and wavelength has one of three settings, 0 = 1 (there is no zero setting permitted for the parameters), 1 = 500, and X=999, producing a four digit sequence, ranging from 0.0.0.0 to X.X.X.X. The Scale parameters were set to 100% for maximum effect. The only other parameter to set was the type of processing waveform; Sine, Square, or Triangle. These waveforms resonate with my decades of electronic music composition, and in a sense, CODE.X is a very musical work, in three movements. The adjustments of these parameters resulted in 81 variations for each waveform, creating 243 images in total. The X processed with 0.0.0.0 settings is very nearly identical in each waveform. It is over time and with the adjusted settings of the parameters that the work unfolds, again, a musical notion. Each waveform set is laid out in alphanumeric order, per waveform, so there are three images per title, but different in appearance by the waveform processing. The images were impossible for me to predict – I knew they would look more or less like an X depending on the settings, but the results were often a complete surprise.