“ARTOMAT is a system for the automated production of art. Select an object, apply certain methods to it, combine it with another object, place it in an appropriate space, and your unique work is ready!
In our era, there are evermore products, both material and virtual, that are created entirely or to a large extent through automated processes. Art is the last bastion where one-off, unique products are made. What’s more, they are linked to the myth of the individual “internal world of the artist.” Nevertheless, if we closely observe the processes that have been underway in art in recent decades, we can see that behind the apparent variety in the works that are appearing lies a fairly limited selection of algorithms employed in their creation:

— taking something small and powerfully magnifying it;
— taking a single object and multiplying it;
— taking a large object and turning it upside down;
— building a recognizable object from “inappropriate,” paradoxical materials, or covering it in a strange pattern or colour;
— taking two or more objects from different, unconnected contexts and combining them;
— recombination — deconstruction with subsequent “inappropriate” assembly.

The ARTOMAT works by employing algorithms akin to those given above and generating art in an automated or semiautomated mode. The viewer becomes a user-artist, creating genuine works of art to suit his or her own taste. Hooked
up to a 2D or 3D printer, the ARTOMAT allows material objects to be created — pictures and sculptures. Thus, the entire production cycle for the creation of the work is automated, from conception to realization.”

ARTOMAT is a project by Aristarkh Chernyshev and Alexei Shulgin, 2013. See a gallery here.

“The Fear Of Missing Out” is a project by Jonas Lund:

“The title derives from a social network induced anxiety condition. One brought on by trying to keep up with a rapidly moving world. A fear of constantly being one-step behind, in the wrong place, and missing out on the most exciting events. The Fear Of Missing Out proposes that it is possible to be one step ahead of the art world by using well-crafted algorithms and computational logic.

The works in the show are the result of a computer algorithm written by Lund. By analysing and categorizing a wide range of artworks, by the most successful contemporary artists, a set of instructions were generated explaining, step by step, how to make the most successful works of art. The artist then simply made the work following the instructions. In The Fear of Missing Out, important categories from the art world such as authenticity, artistry, talent, and creativity are questioned. The title also refers to the urge to be a part of a transparent information society made up of an overarching digital network.”