Ringers #621

On-chain algorithm, NFT, and Ethereum blockchain, 2021
Private collection

Ringers explores the vast creative potential of a simple concept: how a string can be wrapped around a set of pegs to produce new shapes and forms. Inspired by Swiss graphic designer Armin Hoffman’s experiments with grids and geometric abstraction, Dmitri Cherniak designed an algorithm to generate 1,000 unique compositions, each stemming from this fundamental set of rules.

Cherniak’s algorithm changes key variables such as the number, size, and placement of pegs, the string’s wrapping path, and the color scheme, producing endlessly novel forms. Working with code, Cherniak was able to greatly expand Hoffman’s original visual system and explore far more variations than could be designed manually.

For Ringers, as for other long-form generative art, the algorithm executes in real time, producing outcomes that neither the creator nor the collector can predict in advance. For Cherniak, this lets him experiment with “automation as an artistic medium.”