Cuneiform and Kisses

This is my second GA project exploring the letterform. Images that look like writing but have no meaning. First a little history: Cuneiform is wedge-shaped characters used in the ancient writing systems of Mesopotamia, Persia, and Ugarit, surviving mainly impressed on clay tablets. Intrigued by the surface patterns of these tablets I was inspired to write an algorithmic cuneiform generator.

First I needed to design a mark similar to wedge-shaped impression that a tool makes in clay. The cuneiform character I came up with is remarkably reminiscent of a candy kiss, very sweet, so I stuck with it. I created several tiles that are various arrangements of marks: one per tile, two per tile, four per tile; in each tile the marks are randomly oriented. Next I create randomly sized tessellations, arrangements of 3x3, 6x6, 9x9 or 12x12 tiles. Twenty five percent of the time I draw the horizontal lines between the rows that are characteristic of an actual cuneiform tablet. However, most of the time I omit drawing these lines and the program produces an interesting an OP Art image with many Gestalt interactions. Hence, Cuneiform and Kisses.

Check out Dr. Bill Generative Art OG website @ drbillkolomyjec.comAlgorithmic Art, Randomness, Graphic Design, Dr. Bill Kolomyjec, Generative Art, OG