QQL
Web-based generative art software, 2022
Courtesy of the artists
QQL gives us a peek into the generative artist’s process and allows you to determine color palettes, patterns, and other qualities.
On the nearby touch screen, you can adjust the algorithm’s parameters, explore different possibilities, and generate your own unique QQL!
Your selections will guide what the final output looks like.
Randomness is a key force—the same settings can produce strikingly different images.
Created by Tyler Hobbs and Dandelion Mané, QQL is a web-based algorithmic art generator optimized for emergence: Each roll of the algorithmic dice leans toward greater complexity and produces unexpected results.
While the number of potential images that can be generated by the QQL algorithm is infinite, only 999 can be officially minted. Collectors with a mint pass can select their favorite versions before finalizing one as a non-fungible token (NFT). This means that the collectors, rather than the artists, decide which images will be permanently recorded on the blockchain.
Art created using autonomous systems like computer algorithms, AI models, or rule-based processes where the artist sets up initial parameters but then allows the system to independently produce or contribute to the
final artwork. The artist designs the process rather than directly creating every element, embracing randomness, complexity, and emergence to produce results that often could not be fully predicted beforehand.
When simple elements interact to create complex behaviors or patterns that could not be predicted from the individual components alone. It’s how ant colonies organize without a leader, how consciousness arises from neurons, or how water molecules create waves: Something new emerges from simpler parts interacting.
The process of creating and registering a new digital asset, such as an NFT (non-fungible token) or cryptocurrency token, on a blockchain network. It transforms digital content into a verified, tradeable item with recorded ownership, similar to how traditional mints produce physical coins or currency.
A unique digital certificate stored on a blockchain that proves ownership of a specific digital asset like artwork, music, or videos. An NFT works like a contract of ownership, recording data like sales and trading information. Unlike cryptocurrencies, each NFT is non-fungible, meaning it’s one-of-a-kind and cannot be exchanged equally with another, making it ideal for digital collectibles.
A digital ledger that stores information across many computers instead of one central location. Each new record links to previous ones, forming a secure chain of “blocks” (packages of encrypted data) that is extremely difficult to alter or hack. Blockchain technology has been used to create cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) due to its ability to securely record transactions without requiring the authentication of a centralized regulatory body.