Noir Orion (algorithm)

Noir Orion (algorithm) is a generative algorithm designed to explore the gradual transformation of a simple shape: the circle. Each time the algorithm is run, a unique variation of a circle is created. By running the algorithm many times, the artist can create a large set of unique outputs that are all related aesthetically, yet different.

Each time the Noir Orion algorithm is run, it first uses a Gaussian function to determine the subdivision depth of the circle, the number of decorators applied, and their distribution along its perimeter. Then the algorithm uses randomness to determine the micro-characteristics, including the precise subdivision values, the specific decorators chosen, and their intrinsic parameters. By combining programmed functions and randomness, the artist creates a single algorithm that can create a large body of related, but unique, works.

In the case of the Noir Orion plotter drawing (and related book), the artist selected 63 iterations from the set of outputs with the aim of giving the work a structural coherence. The selections evolve from a simple circle to increasingly elaborate configurations of a circle. They then reverse and simplify again, until returning to a circle with lines evocative of a star. 

Aside from this larger work, the algorithm itself still exists (as well as potential new outputs that haven't yet been seen).

In a new twist on the collector/artist relationship, Ragnar Digital acquired the actual algorithm, which has been inscribed on blockchain to ensure that the code remains accessible in its exact and verifiable form. And along with the algorithm, Ragnar Digital has the rights to create (or not create) new outputs.

The asks several questions: 

• What is the actual artwork: the outputs of the algorithm or the algorithm? 

• What does it mean to own the method of creation? 

• What does it mean to own the potential for new outputs?

These questions are all central to this work.