Generative art project Impossible Cathedrals by EDG positions itself at the forefront of this evolving and ever-present question about what constitutes fine art.
When the Impressionists first exhibited their work, they derided as lunatics by the art establishment. The vitriol then — "wallpaper in its embryonic state is more finished than that seascape" (referring to Impression: sunrise by Monet) — reminds artist of criticism that generative art, and the NFT world more generally, are subject to now. "Impossible Cathedrals" is a tribute to rebels who dare to see the world differently.
Since generative art is often criticized as cold and austere, I took this as a challenge to reproduce the spirit of impressionism. Impossible cathedrals — interwoven arches that cannot exist in reality — hint at some of the favorite subjects of the impressionists.
The title alludes to Italo Calvino's novel Invisible Cities, a rebel in another context. Other artists who I had in mind during creation: the Japanese woodblock printing artists Kawase Hasui and Hiroshi Yoshida; American painter JAM Whistler.
"Each cathedral uses soft, expressive colors and techniques to convey an aura, mood, and trace of the subject, leaving the observer with an unavoidable subtext: you are viewing a computer-generated impression rendered solely through the use of code. Thus, the code is no different than a brushstroke set to canvas, and the generative artist is no different than an impressionist, cubist, surrealist, or old master." — @maxwellwhite
Impossible cathedrals was written in p5.js using elements of code by EDG.
