Generative Calendar is a year-long exploration of one generative algorithm. It is an interpretation of “long-form” generative art where the artist himself — instead of the transaction hash at mint time — acts as the deciding factor on how each of the 365 iterations of the piece turns out.

The process deliberately takes time — one full year. Through daily work on and with the algorithm during the year, I essentially take the role of the computer, re-enacting the process each iteration of a long-form generative artwork goes through in super slow motion.

I’m a lousy computer, however: producing works that fit my daily thoughts, moods, and influences, works that harmonize with previous iterations and surprise with yet-unseen qualities instead of outputting pure random iterations of the same system. In this way, I hope to explore many of the possibilities within the algorithm, and aim to make use of its variability instead of limiting it down to one cohesive visual concept as would fit for a long-form piece.

Will 365 cherry-picked outputs from an algorithm produce a more interesting collection than 365 iterations of a true long-form piece? Or is it more appealing when done by the computer, operating strictly within the boundaries initially given to the piece? What will spending this much time with one algorithm reveal about the relation of artist and machine, and what will it tell about the human condition?