Image © 2009, Paul Pomeroy.
The above image started out as a photo of 16 frosted-glass disks (about 2 inches in diameter) in a 4x4 grid (which is still partially visible). All of the colors and patterns emerged as a result of repeatedly adding Photoshop adjustment layers and filters. None of these added color to the image; they intensify (and sometimes shift) the colors that are hidden there. Even though I've done this enough to know what to expect it still surprises me when I see how many differences there are in each of the disks. They don't look that different at all to the naked eye (see yesterday's post for a more accurate idea of what the disks actually look like).
The following music is, and yet isn't, by David Cope of U.C. Santa Cruz. It was composed by what he affectionately refers to as Emmy (E.M.I., Experiments in Musical Intelligence), software he has worked on for decades. It analyzes the music of a composer and then, using random variations and combinations, composes new works that (statistically) match the style of the analyzed composer. One may be excused for imagining the reults must sound rather odd or somehow machine-like. Nothing could be further from the truth, though.
I find my reaction to this is conflicted at best. At first there is a "wow, that's cool and surprisng" feeling but that is immediately followed by a vague depression. Regardless, it is beautiful music and there's more.