Catharsis

Evolutive algorithm

Catharsis is the first evolutive algorithm on the blockchain. Following the increasing energy on a cathartic episode, the style of these outputs evolves from the beginning of the series to the final artworks. Starting with a less dense and timid mood, the project evolves towards a more energetic style, involving more paint on the pieces, and applying it with greater ferocity. New features and high density rarities appear as the series progresses, and new color palettes show up. This makes the whole linear collection into a big artwork itself, each piece representing one step in the incremental cathartic release of creativity. However, this increase in intensity is not strictly or mechanically linear, but with small ups and downs, making the evolution more organic and natural.

Instead of a static code that may produce the same kind of outputs throughout the entire series, with the same likelihood of singularities, features, styles and color schemes, Catharsis represents the first time an algorithm mutates, changes, evolves on the blockchain while it is being executed, establishing a new dimension to contemporary art production hitherto unexplored.

Evolving style by an evolutive algorithm. Outputs at the end of the series

Long-structure

Today we are familiar with the term "long-form", a term that defines the way in which now generative artists must design their projects, not working over each piece individually, but planning and projecting large collections of artworks with a high demand for variability between them.

In a concept that goes beyond that idea,Catharsis not only proposes a large-scale design with a great variability of outputs, but an entire collection that has been designed around a global structure that allows the pairing of different artworks into diptychs and triptychs. Instead of each piece being solved individually on its own visual space, independent from the rest of the project, the paint cast in one Catharsis artwork continues and extends into the next work, whose painting in turn invades the following one, producing a global rhythm that runs through the entire project, on a beautiful structure designed on a gigantic scale.

This implies that, while the paint is thrown in chaotic and unpredictable ways in all the pieces, the work, for example number #2, presents continuity on both sides with works #1 and #3, and can thus be collected together to produce a triptych. However, in order to broaden the possibilities of the collection, Dario managed to design the whole continuity around a 50-work structure, which implies that artwork #2 will also present continuity with piece #53, or with #103 or #153, #203, #353... greatly increasing the collecting dynamics of this project.

Chaos, randomness and structure. Pairing a triptych on the 50-pieces structure

Diptych showing paint continuity between Catharsis test #256 (left) and Catharsis test #307 (right) Notice the general common paint movement and amazing effect of paint strokes physically continuing from one artwork into the other

Individual titles

In Catharsis each and every artwork presents an individual and unique title, corresponding to the most influential jazz pieces in history. These titles help the artworks to gain depth and meaning, and provide a closer repationship with the artwork.

10 Traits

Innovations

Catharsis is not just an aesthetic exploration aimed to digitally mimic the human touch. Although it presents a solid concept and gorgeous elegant look, its new ideas, such as evolution and "long-structure", will undoubtedly mark a before and after in generative artistic creation.