Careless and Well-Intentioned

Careless and Well-Intentioned is a series of four unique iterations, plus an artist’s proof, from a single generative algorithm, created in 2022.

Like most of my work, the creation of Careless and Well-Intentioned involved a process of discovery. Also like most of my work, I did not start from scratch, but rather departed from an unexplored branch of a previous work. I had stumbled across the core of the idea while working on Incomplete Control, my generative algorithm targeting 100 outputs. I decided to take Incomplete Control in a softer, messier, layered direction, but the strong graphical versions still appealed to me and called out for further investigation.

When I began this work, I had no final destination in mind, only the starting point. I find that I create my best work when I am open-minded during the creative process. I try to allow the work to develop itself and find its own path and strongest position. My role is to experiment, carefully observe the results, and press forward with whatever I learn from observing. I do this in a cycle, over and over — changing the code, running the program, looking at the image it produces, and then returning to change the code again. In a sense, I am stumbling down a new path one step at a time. Sometimes the computer, with its randomized creations, suggests an intriguing or unusual next step to take. We are partners in the discovery process.

One of my core fascinations is color. Specifically, I am interested in the generative approach to color, because it poses challenges that are quite novel to, say, someone coming from a painting background. Because of the inherent randomization in the generative process, the artist loses most control over the precise placement and distribution of particular colors. I have come to learn, through works like Careless and Well-Intentioned, that the placement and arrangement of colors actually matter even more than the particular colors selected for the palette. Most of my creative energy in this work was focused on developing strategies for constructing regions of harmoniously related colors, while still allowing for the unexpected conflict to arise. The loose "grid" functioned as powerful scaffolding for those color constructions.

The final five iterations from this algorithm were hand-selected from a set of one thousand candidates. Because of this curation step, I was able to have a more wildly varying and "risky" algorithm than I had with Fidenza or Incomplete Control. I tried to set up the algorithm for a small chance of incredible results and didn't worry as much about the quality of the average output. As a result, the five selected iterations showcase distinct characteristics of the design, from the more dense and rhythmic possibilities to the sparse and flowing end of the spectrum.

Notable Moments

Careless and Well-Intentioned #4 was acquired by SFMOMA in December 2023.