# Origin

[…]

Their scientific pursuits had long been focused on this particular region, absorbing a considerable amount of their resources. Centuries were invested in decoding patterns that, despite their relentless efforts, remained stubbornly incomprehensible.

Then it happened.

In a tiny sliver of spacetime, a coherent structure emerged. The entire episode unfolded in an instant, but it was crystal clear. A spontaneous creation with an otherworldly precision, unforeseen and inexplicable, had materialized right before their eyes.

And just as quickly it all dissolved, leaving only a faint, vanishing trail.

Attempts at replication proved unsuccessful, the anomaly slipping through their scientific grasp. But this singular event proved that they had glimpsed the origin of some kind, an undeniable reality forever etched into their collective minds.

[…]

## Details

This generative artwork uses a technique called Monte Carlo path tracing, which is a physically based rendering algorithm that simulates the way light rays bounce around in a scene. It is computationally expensive as it follows multiple light rays per pixel, but it produces well-lit and realistic images.

The shapes in this artwork are created using pure mathematical equations called signed distance functions. Using various complex algorithms, these shapes are distorted and combined with each other to create new forms.

Due to its computational complexity, it takes a while to render a crisp image. The longer you let it run, the more detailed and less noisy the final output becomes.  By default, the renderer optimizes for a 15 FPS rendering speed by choosing an optimal tile size. This keeps your browser responsive, but renders more slowly. To render an image at maximum capacity, you can disable tile-based rendering.

## Controls

- Press **[space]** or **[tap]** the screen to pause the renderer.
- Press **[s]** or **[tap and hold]** to save a png file.
- Press **[1]** - **[8]** to select a preset that renders 4000 frames and saves the result at a specific size. Sizes range from 1024 to 8192 pixels on the longest side.
- Press **[a]** to toggle automatic tile-based rendering.
- Press **[i]** to toggle the info panel.

You can optionally append these parameters to the URL:

- **[size=<number>]** define the number of pixels of the largest side (default: window size).
- **[frames=<number>]** define the total number of render frames (default: 4000).
- **[save=1]** when *frames* is defined, you can optionally enable auto-save when the renderering is completed (default: disabled).
- **[fps=<number>]** automatically adjust the tile size to reach the desired frames per second of your browser (default: 15).
- **[tile=<number>]** define the tile size for tile-based rendering, use 0 for full-size rendering (default: auto).


Origin

Art Blocks Studio is a self-publishing platform designed to empower preeminent generative artists by facilitating the direct release of their collections. The Studio allows artists to manage their own releases and provides them with autonomy in both creation and distribution.

Art Blocks Studio

A study on exploring generative coloring rules applied to pixels drawn outward from the center.

Color Experiment

Quine is Larva Labs' contribution to the final Art Blocks Curated series, a project that underscores that all the works on the Art Blocks platform are generated directly from code with no artist supervision. Drawing from the computer science concept of a quine (a computer program that produces a copy of its own source code as its output), the work incorporates its own code into the visuals it creates.

Rather than hiding the generative process, Quine makes code alive as both medium and subject, creating a strange loop where the artwork contains the instructions for its own existence. This is closely analogous to how biological life reproduces itself: the DNA in the living cell is a type of "program" that can produce all the mechanisms of life, one of which is making a reproduction of itself upon cell reproduction. Each Quine functions simultaneously as executable code (the DNA) and typographic composition (the cell). While some are "Perfect-Quines" that reproduce themselves exactly, others cycle through multiple generations – its "quintity"– before returning to its origin state.

As opposed to creating the artwork directly, the main generator constructs a much smaller, specialized program that produces the visual output, including a layout of its own source code into the work, as well as the mechanism to reproduce itself. In this way, Quines are both program listings and artworks.

Quine

The Curated collection is the foundational series of Art Blocks. It represents our vision for the pinnacle of generative art, showcasing projects that embody world-class innovation, technical rigor, and aesthetic beauty. Originally organized into Series 1 through 8 until October 2022, the collection continues without series designations and advances our mission to push the boundaries of the generative art medium.

Art Blocks Curated

# Strings. Strings? Strings! All things vibrate. Like these strings, just pluck them!

From the tiniest quantum thread to the flamenco guitarist’s passionate strum, strings are everywhere. They bind us. They guide us. They whisper and roar inside us.
*Grab that string and strike it!*

*On mobile*: Click once on the artwork to activate sound.

*On computer*: Transpose the fundamental note by pressing keys + and -.

## String theory

A string fixed at both ends vibrates when plucked. The vibration sets the surrounding air into motion, creating sound waves. The pitch of the note you hear is mainly determined by its length and tension. A shorter string has a higher pitch. A tighter string produces faster vibrations, which also leads to a higher pitch.

By bending a string, you increase its tension, which also raises the frequency. If you grab a string closer to its endpoints, you can hear a slightly higher pitch that glides back to its main pitch. You can also see this in the string animation: it moves toward the center, most recognizable on the longer strings.

The different artworks have different tunings and sounds. Their main sound is made from a sine, triangle, square, or sawtooth wave. It is then shaped by one of three effects: vibrato, tremolo, or filter. Finally, it is played through a light reverb.

## Grids

The strings are attached to a grid that spans from 3×3 to 15×15. There is always a main string that divides the artwork into two sections. Strings are then attached on both sides depending on available space. Each endpoint is filled with white, black, or a color.

## Colors

The faded colors came about when I found an old drawing of Mickey Mouse—black and white with red pants, and Pluto by his side. I remember being a kid, lying in our caravan during summer holidays, reading comic books. Such wonderful nostalgic feelings!

The artworks come in yellow, red, green, blue and pink, combined with a white or black side. There are also black, white and gray variants.

Strings

But structures are not eternal. With the passage of time they crumble or solidify, both degenerations in opposite extremes that are the result of the apparition of a new element in the system: silence. The difference is too vast to be integrated, from pure creation through the addition of an element of absorption we obtain decay. *"Waste, decline, degeneration is not something to be condemned in itself: it is a necessary consequence of life, of the growth of life. The appearance of decadence is as necessary as any rise and advance of life: we have no way of eliminating it."*

Origin

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