The installation is a part of the ongoing experimentation and development of the generative painting genre of new media artwork. It has been developed to act as a collaborative tool that allows the combination of pattern, structure, color, context and process to produce versioned art works. The software is written to allow for the gestural manipulation of live video and the output of a ‘painted’ moment in time.
This most recent version of the artwork – Engine 26 – is a site specific, interactive installation created for the Whitney Gala 2010 and TED Women. Using various computer vision techniques to capture the movement of visitors through the camera, Engine 26 paints different areas of live video onto the digital canvas over time. All the paintings from the night can be seen on the online archive: www.engine26.net.