Joseph Beuys, the famous German modern artist, said that anyone could be an artist. Marcel Duchamp displayed a toilet bowl and called it 'art'. These are manifestations of modern art that enlarge its boundaries without limit.

Now even a computer, not an individual person, can be an artist since computers can draw pictures according to the programs installed in them. This new type of art was recently displayed at Seoul Arts Space Seogyo.

This is a result of a joint cooperative effort for one and a half years between two SNU engineers and an artist. At the exhibition center were videos showing the process of computer painting and around 40 images of faces, skeletons, and abstract paintings.

KIM Yoon Young, SNU professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, designed algorithms to build artificial intelligence for computers to draw paintings. He said that"just like there are starting and ending points when humans draw pictures using a paintbrush, we assign imaginary starting and ending points to computers so that they can generate images. Artists then decide which ones to display among a variety of computer-generated images, and then rearrange them."

Professor Kim named this 'variational art'. It is not unusual for an artist to make use of engineering concepts or techniques. But it is indeed unusual for an engineer to apply engineering technologies to the creation of art. Professor Kim said,"I studied topological optimal design (algorithms) for a long time, and this led me to think that it would be nice to apply this technology to art and design. I worked with the artist KIM Hyung Kee (alumnus of SNU's College of Fine Arts) and the researcher RYU Chae Un to establish a fine arts group called 'Project 33' to conduct research on the creation and formation of this type of art."

Their works have been selected for inclusion in the permanent exhibition at Seoul Arts Space Seogyo.

Written by PARK Ziho, SNU English Editor, snuitsm2@snu.ac.kr  ?
Proofread by Brett Johnson, SNU English Editor, morningcalm2@gmail.com