DIFFERENT BITS
Karl Sims’ installation “Genetic Images”
marked the first public display of
interactive evolutionary techniques.
used a supercomputer and 16 channels of video output, each displaying
brightly colored abstract images that
were changing at a constant rate,
updating as generations of a Genetic
Algorithm. In front of each screen was
a pressure sensitive mat which viewers
could stand on to select the screen
they liked the most. It was a brilliant
and simple way of making evolutionary
graphics interactive, and their display in
an art context was revolutionary.
Following in his tracks, artist
Steven Rooke applied Sims’ techniques
to fractals evolving complex hyper-dimensional landscapes of visuals.
Many others quickly began to follow
suit in the visual and performing arts
creating the massive field of evolutionary art we know today. (If you don’t
believe me, do a Google search for
the term “evolutionary art” ... you’ll
see. There is even a flickr stream
devoted exclusively to these kind of
images!) Not only artists were inspired
by this work, scientists, in turn, were
intrigued to try out these techniques
for themselves, exploring new ideas in
robotics, language, plant evolution,
and neural networks. Industry caught
on and developed new methods of
designing cars, food, and schedules
based on interactive evolution. Today,
there are conferences on the subject
and libraries worth of information
available. A lot has happened in
15 years!
Hereditary Language
Now that we are caught up
on the history and have looked
at a few examples, it’s a good
A later installation by Karl Sims,
“Galapagos” further developed
the ideas of interactive evolution
pioneered in “Genetic Images.”
68 SERVO 09.2008
