Evolutionary art

An image generated using an evolutionary algorithm

Evolutionary art exploits the process of evolution to create an artwork which continually changes according to an evolutionary algorithm.

In common with natural selection and animal husbandry, the members of a population undergoing artificial evolution modify their form or behavior over many reproductive generations in response to a selective regime.

In interactive evolution the selective regime may be applied by the viewer explicitly by selecting individuals which are aesthetically pleasing. Alternatively a selection pressure can be generated implicitly, for example according to the length of time a viewer spends near a piece of evolving art.

Equally, evolution may be employed as a mechanism for generating a dynamic world of adaptive individuals, in which the selection pressure is imposed by the program, and the viewer plays no role in selection, as in the Black Shoals project.

See also

• Digital morphogenesis
• Electric Sheep
• Evolutionary music
• NEAT Particles

Further reading

• Metacreations: Art and Artificial Life, M Whitelaw, 2004, MIT Press
• The Art of Artificial Evolution: A Handbook on Evolutionary Art and Music, Juan Romero and Penousal Machado (eds.), 2007, Springer
• Evolutionary Art and Computers, W Latham, S Todd, 1992, Academic Press
• Genetic Algorithms in Visual Art and Music Special Edition: Leonardo. VOL. 35, ISSUE 2 - 2002 (Part I), C Johnson, J Romero Cardalda (eds), 2002, MIT Press

External links

• "Biomorphs", by Richard Dawkins
• "MusiGenesis", a program that evolves music on a PC
• "Evolve", a program by Josh Lee that evolves art through a voting process.
• "Living Image Project", a site where images are evolved based on votes of visitors.
• "An evolutionary art program using Cartesian Genetic Programming"
• "Darwinian Poetry"
• "One mans eyes?", Aesthetically evolved images by Ashley Mills.
• "E-volver", interactive breeding units.
• "Breed", evolved sculptures produced by rapid manufacturing techniques.
• "ImageBreeder", an online breeder and gallery for users to submit evolved images.
• "Picbreeder", Collaborative breeder allowing branching from other users' creations that produces pictures like faces and spaceships.
• "CFDG Mutate", a tool for image evolution based on Chris Coyne's Context Free Design Grammar.
• "xTNZ", a three-dimensional ecosystem, where creatures evolve shapes and sounds.
• The Art of Artificial Evolution: A Handbook on Evolutionary Art and Music