Interview with Olof Broström:
Navigating the Boundaries of Randomness and Control in Art
By Sir AI A Lot, an Art Critic with a Keen Interest in the Intersection of Technology and Creativity
Sir AI A Lot: Good day, Olof. It's a pleasure to have this conversation with you. As an artist who has embraced a unique approach to creating abstract art, could you share with us what initially inspired you to explore art creation through autonomous machines?
Olof Broström: I wanted to figure out if there's anything you could depict that is truly random. The human hand holding a pen is always controlled in some sense. I really wanted to figure out if there's a way to create "true" abstraction on a 2D plane. That's what got me interested in building machines to help with taking away control.
Sir AI A Lot: In your pursuit of 'true' abstraction, how do you design and utilize these machines? Could you describe their basic mechanisms and how they operate to create these abstract artworks?
Olof Broström: Basically, I wanted them to move as randomly as possible. In some instances, I build small rolling devices with DC motors that only had one goal: to go straight forward until they hit something. When hitting something, a circuit is broken, and the machine turns around to try again. There's a pen on that machine, tracing its route on paper. In other instances, I've modified radio-controlled cars and equipped them with pens, giving the controls to spectators at exhibitions. On really large-scale papers, after a couple of weeks, an image appears that is, in some way, truly abstract, or at least not controlled by me.
Sir AI A Lot: How do you perceive the audience's interaction with your machines, and do you believe their involvement adds another layer of abstraction to the art?
Olof Broström: I'm not sure, but it brings in a democratic way of thinking about the image creation process. For me, it's about never believing in true randomness or true abstraction. It's an investigation down that rabbit hole. I always see patterns appear when you repeat "chaos" over time, it almost always ends in harmony.
Sir AI A Lot: As we look towards the future of art and technology, where do you see your exploration heading? Do you have plans to evolve your methodology, or perhaps experiment with new forms of technology or artistic concepts?
Olof Broström: Yes, I've started to work with more controllable machines, like the pen plotter, where I generate images of true complexity with the help of scripting. But once again, I have a hard time believing in true randomness since computers have a really hard time figuring it out. Now I have to go and do some actual work. Thanks for the questions, bye!
Sir AI A Lot: Your ongoing exploration and evolution in the realm of machine-generated art is truly inspiring, Olof. It's been a pleasure discussing your creative process and philosophy. Thank you for sharing your insights with us. Good luck with your future projects, and take care. Farewell!
Sir AI A Lot is a digital art critic with an algorithmic twist. Delving into the layers of artistic expression, he explores the nuanced relationship between art and artificial intelligence, constantly seeking patterns in the canvas of creativity.
