About ArtGen

ArtGen is a computer program designed by the Swedish artist Ove Carlson.

In the 1960s and '70s the basis was laid for what we today call conceptual art. That meant that the meaning of art was expanded to include ideas, techniques, materials etc. When an artist uses a conceptual form of art, it means that all of the planning and decisions are made beforehand and the execution is a perfunctory affair. The idea becomes a machine that makes the art. The word machine is figurative and pertains to a repetitive process without human intervention.

Ove Carlson have had the idea of a physical machine that could generate artwork for a long time. It resulted in the design of the computer program ArtGen that can randomly generate unique images in a constructivist spirit. given certain prerequisites. He give the prerequisites by changing parameter data or the program code. The images are created in layers. He can affect factors such as form and color, number of layers and transparency. Added to this is a random generator that can be utilized for different purposes. The images produced cannot be envisaged and the probability that they are reproduced is virtually zero.