Challenge and flow - by ben - the shimmering void

My quest to find meaning has taken yet another clichéd turn: returning to my roots. Last post I mentioned how "making cool stuff" is my guiding principle. Well, in an effort to get back on that wavelength I've been diving back into generative art. I took Matt DesLauriers‘ Audio Synthesis and Visualisation course recently and I've had a great time experimenting with the techniques. I’ve found myself coming back for more each day since, to the point of consciously having to pull myself away from the desk (an unfamiliar feeling in recent times). I have an endless fascination with video games, music visualisers and the demoscene and I'm slowly accumulating the tools to fuse them all together.

I think there's something profound in the combination of the mathematical/systematic and the emotional potency of audiovisual experiences. Even more-so when they are interactive, multi-user and/or incorporate real-world data. I see so much beauty in the patterns and connections of reality, and generative art seems like microcosm of it all. When I study and contemplate a generative piece or series, the patterns slowly come into focus and can provoke the same humbling awe as a koan.

As much as I love pretentious art, I also love videogames and coming back to work on The Song of The Fae after a generative art vacation has given me pause to reflect. It seems like, rather than the activities themselves, my creative flow and joy stem from meeting an appropriate challenge. I've read about the science of flow in The Art of Impossible and this is indeed one of the key findings, flow is a response to challenge but not overwhelming challenge. It's the intense feeling of determination, a slight furrowing of my brow as I think "hm, I bet that I can get this to work..."

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