Algorithmic Cubism

A closer look

The retained illustration arranges teal and ochre triangles, rectangles and curved segments inside a dark grid. Its repeated modules demonstrate geometric organization more clearly than multiple viewpoints of a recognizable object.

Documented context and this exercise

Robert A. Gonsalves documents Dial-A-Style, an interactive installation shown in 2013 that applies algorithms to visitors’ portraits, including a Cubism option. This is a concrete example of algorithmic stylization; it does not establish a historical movement called Algorithmic Cubism. The exercises below are AOI’s own geometric interpretation.

Build the visual structure

Choose an object with a distinct contour: a jug, guitar or folded chair. Identify three features that must survive fragmentation, then partition the surrounding space into a limited set of planes. Rotate selected planes or change their scale according to a stated rule. Avoid scattering every feature independently; the object needs a visual route back to coherence.

An algorithm can guide a composition without making its artistic decisions inevitable. Compare a regular grid with a version in which only one region breaks the rule. Keep the palette small enough to see the structural change. A generated picture that resembles geometric painting does not, by itself, document the use of a particular algorithm.

A focused studio exercise

Draw the same jug with six, twelve and twenty-four planes. Preserve its handle in every version and compare the point at which extra subdivisions stop adding useful information.

Compare the studies at the same size and save the chosen prompt or process settings with each result. Keep the subject and viewing angle fixed during this test so the effect of the changed variable stays visible.