Introduction

The process by which the work is created, emerges or evolves

Sol LeWitt's work is unique in the sense that he does not produce his works with his own hands. Instead, he comes up with the idea for his work, creates a set of simple instructions to reflect his ideas, and gives the instructions to his assistants who go on to produce the work. Although the instructions are specific, they are also open-ended enough so that the artwork produced varies each time according to the interpretation of the person completing the work of art. He essentially creates art through coded instructions. 

For his Wall Drawings, LeWitt would give his on-site assistants his instructions to be executed at each exhibition space. The wall drawings would then only exist for the duration of the exhibit before being destroyed after the closure of the exhibits.

Forms of interaction

Because every person not only draws differently, but also interprets instructions differently, the end result of each piece of art is always different. This variation in the artwork is what gives it humanity. Even every copy of the same wall drawing would turn out differently. This also means that the artwork was not a product of mass production, but rather the product of a wonderful collaboration between artists.

The artist’s intentions, views, background, methods, inspirations 

For LeWitt's Four Sided Pyramid, he was inspired by the pyramids at Chichen Itza and the set-back skyscraper.

LeWitt was inspired to create his artwork through instructions from his time working in an architect's office. This is what also influenced him to use assistants.

Discussion

What’s the significance of the work? What impact does/doesn’t it have?

What gives the wall drawings and codes incomparable uniqueness is the humanity and variance in both LeWitt’s art and programming. Even though LeWitt’s guidelines were relatively quantized and measurable, he himself being the creator still added a human factor in his instructions, which would influence the end result.

In the realm of creative coding, his emphasis on systems, rules, and the conceptual basis of art continues to inspire artists to explore the intersection of art and technology.

What are the connections with the concepts we are learning in CCLab?

It reminds us of the first in-class activity we did in CCLab after the question “Why do we need computers and what do computers do?” where we were divided into groups and drew according to different instructions. That’s exactly what Sol Lewitt did for his wall drawings. This process highly syncs with how the computer receives instructions and outputs the results. What we are trying to do in CCLab, just like Sol Lewitt’s works, is not one-to-one instruction but a creative and generative process.

What can we learn from it?

Both art and coding can be formed from a simple set of instructions, where the end result is something abstract, beautiful, and unique. The artist and the coder both do not need to have complete control over the end product, a certain amount of randomness and unpredictability is necessary to add an element of artistry to the work.

His work inspires us to think about the definition of the process of creating since there’s always a debate on whether he’s the artist or his assistants are. I don’t think I have a correct answer for this but I learned this perspective to think of.

What does the work inspire you to do next?

It inspires us to experiment with generating art from simple code in abstract ways, similar to what LeWitt did with his instructions and art.

Individual Conclusion

The essence that stood out to me from Sol LeWitt's work is the balance between his role as the designer and the flexibility in the instructions. There are recognizable patterns in the work but at the same time, I can see the flow or the changes within them. For our generative creature project, I wouldn't need those highly geometrical patterns but I hope the instructions I give to my creatures or my computers will allow some space for their own development. I will definitely try to experiment more to see if there's any interesting surprise outside the instructions themselves.