MAT 256 Visual Design through Algorithms MAT 256

MAT 256 Visual Design through Algorithms MAT 256: Visual Design Through Algorithms Professor George Legrady, legrady@arts. ucsb. edu Professor Jerry Gibson, gibson@mat. ucsb. edu Winter 2006, e-studio, Art 2220 Tuesday 1 pm-2 pm, Jerry Gibson Lecture Thursday 12 pm-1 pm, George Legrady Lecture Thursday 12 pm-1 pm, Lab TA Will Wolcott, wolcott@umail. ucsb. edu Media Arts and Technology Graduate Program UC Santa Barbara Course Web Site : http: //www. mat. ucsb. edu/~g. legrady/ Winter 2006

MAT 256 Visual Design through Algorithms §What is MAT 256? Course Definition § An interdisciplinary team-taught course with goals to foster engineering-level research in conjunction with the experimental approach of the visual arts. § Course consists of weekly lectures by both engineering and arts faculty Media Arts and Technology Graduate Program UC Santa Barbara Winter 2006

MAT 256 Visual Design through Algorithms §Course Goals § Engineering component: understanding of the scientific premise of the algorithms § Artistic component: to aim for aesthetic richness and visual/conceptual innovation § The course is meant to function as a resource and reference for future research Media Arts and Technology Graduate Program UC Santa Barbara Winter 2006

MAT 256 Visual Design through Algorithms §Student Workload § 3 multimedia projects that explore mathematical visual processes, interactivity and visual perception: 1) Visual FFT, 2) Randomness, 3) Final Project § Lecture and lab attendance § Directed reports on readings posted at course mailing list § Projects to be documented online Media Arts and Technology Graduate Program UC Santa Barbara Winter 2006

MAT 256 Visual Design through Algorithms §Interdisciplinarity § Students will be paired based on different backgrounds (artist, engineer, social science, etc. ) § Goal is to hybridize, exchange problem solving methods, ideas, empirical results § We will study how we work in teams, how we share knowledge, and arrive at results § Comparison arts and engineering research methods Media Arts and Technology Graduate Program UC Santa Barbara Winter 2006

MAT 256 Visual Design through Algorithms §Engineering Course Content § Filtering, sampling, and reconstruction § Fourier Series, Orthogonal Series, and Approximations, § Randomness, Markov Chains § Noise & Information § Convolution and System Response § Transfer functions § Discrete Transforms Media Arts and Technology Graduate Program UC Santa Barbara Winter 2006

MAT 256 Visual Design through Algorithms §Arts Course Content § Discussion of what is art research § overview of computational aesthetics § a review of the function of images § principles of visual communication § chance, noise, and information § art examples of the implementation of algorithmic processes in contemporary arts and architecture § Media Arts and Technology Graduate Program UC Santa Barbara algorithmic visual design and iterative processes as a form of image production experimentation Winter 2006

MAT 256 Visual Design through Algorithms §Student Projects § Projects will be experimental but show an understanding of lecture material covered § Flexibility in content, technologies, materials § Emphasis on the visual, and possibly interactivity § Driven by research methods, structures, systems, etc. Media Arts and Technology Graduate Program UC Santa Barbara Winter 2006