Dio

"Dio" - our digital interpretation of Sumi-e painting - aims to intertwine the delicate, minimalistic, and nature-focused aesthetics of ancient East Asian art with the precision of modern coding. The concept is inspired by the traditional Sumi-e philosophy that every brush stroke is a defining move. We aimed to introduce a level of intention and directionality to the generative algorithm, much like a human painter's approach to their art.

Our primary source of inspiration is the timeless beauty and simplicity of Sumi-e painting, pioneered by numerous esteemed artists, such as Shozo Sato, Qi Baishi, Xu Wei, Shitao, Katsushika Hokusai, and Sesshū Tōyō. The essential principles of Sumi-e provided us with a unique lens to explore digital generativity in art.

Our process mirrored the chronological nature of a painter's approach - top to bottom, left to right. We started with elemental shapes and iteratively refined them, emulating the Sumi-e single stroke technique. The creation of each element was unique, from mountains to cherry blossoms. Gradually, the algorithm started taking form as an invisible ink painter behind the computer screen, making autonomous artistic decisions.

The foundation of "Dio" is a robust system capable of rendering diverse outputs. We developed a digital infrastructure capable of producing unique brush strokes on the fly, respecting the rules and parameters set for each element. A spectrum of elements, including sun, clouds, peaks, lake, hills, birds, and cherry blossoms, are shuffled to create the final composition. It's a fully coded painting process where the final visual outcome is the pure result of chance, bound only by the rules we implemented.

"Dio" (דיו), which means ink in Hebrew, has been our working title throughout the project. The name reflects our roots and pays homage to the traditional Sumi-e painting medium, ink. We believe it captures the essence of our work – a blend of tradition and innovation.

Press "s" to save a .png
Press "p" to render Dio at high resulotion.

Dio was part of the Blind Gallery x Feral File Vistas Edition.