Mount Royal, 2006
Ryan Hoover is an interdisciplinary artist and researcher actively addressing the impact of emerging technologies on our more-than-human world. Often operating at the intersection of digital and biological systems, he develops software, hardware, and biomaterials to create novel solutions to contemporary issues and open new understandings of our shared future
Writing
Systems Esthetics
In the emergent “superscientific culture” long-‐range decision-‐making and its implementation become more difficult and more necessary. Judgment demands precise socio-‐technical models. Earlier the industrial state evolved by filling consumer needs on a piecemeal basis. The kind of product design that once produced “better living” precipitates vast crises in human ecology.
Skill Building
A series of technical exercises build and demonstrate skills in writing algorithms with Grasshopper and related tools.
Geometry in Grasshopper
In this exercise I created a variety of different types of geometry using Grasshopper. In this process I also learned a lot about the GH interface and applied principles of organizations.
Sequences and Data Structure
Data structures are the key to Grasshopper! Once I added in multiple data inputs with various tools that create sequences, understanding and manipulating the the structure of the data yields new control over the geometry.
Project I: Arborescent Algorithms
The Arborescent Algorithms series operates at the intersection of nature and code. These tree forms are created by an algorithm that the artist has written to simulate natural growth patterns. A practically infinite number of unique trees can be made, and the inputs to the system can be adjusted to simulate a wide range of species. In addition to creating lovely forms, this process is designed to explore the degree to which natural systems can be coded. This work serves as research for the ongoing bio-printing project which aims to print with tree cells. Operating at a degree of abstraction, this series also explores the idea of writing or rewriting natural code through genetic modification.
Process
The trees were created with an algorithm I wrote in Grasshopper, then 3D printed in nylon. The walnut and the aluminum panels were milled on a CNC router. The dimensional aluminum was milled on the Haas vertical mill.