Pherographs and other hidden landscapes Online publication date: Tue, 26-May-2015
by Carlos M. Fernandes
International Journal of Arts and Technology (IJART), Vol. 8, No. 2, 2015
Abstract: Due to some of their traits (non-linearity, emergent behaviour, self-organisation), complex systems raised the interest of artists and theorists and went beyond a scientific framework, entering the realm of visual arts. Art with complex systems is usually referred to as artificial (or generative) art. This paper discusses pherographia, a term that describes the creative use of an artificial intelligence model based on the concepts of stigmergy and cooperation amongst social insects. The system is dynamic, interacts with different types of environment, and reflects properties of insects' societies such as self-organisation, memory and adaptability to changes. Pherographia is addressed from its genesis as a swarm model to its use as an artificial art tool and metaphor for creating a figurative and abstract body-of-work that has been presented to a heterogeneous audience. Motivation and details of the artworks are discussed, as well as their links to artificial art, digital art and photography.
Existing subscribers:
Go to Inderscience Online Journals to access the Full Text of this article.
If you are not a subscriber and you just want to read the full contents of this article, buy online access here.Complimentary Subscribers, Editors or Members of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Arts and Technology (IJART):
Login with your Inderscience username and password:
Want to subscribe?
A subscription gives you complete access to all articles in the current issue, as well as to all articles in the previous three years (where applicable). See our Orders page to subscribe.
If you still need assistance, please email subs@inderscience.com
Our Blog 
Follow us on Twitter 
Visit us on Facebook