Logo as an Art Machine
Internationally-known Danish artist and sculptor Jørgen Minor has long been fascinated with using Logo to create art. As he puts it, his work “demonstrates what happens when an artist meets a computer program.” A gallery exhibit entitled “Logo as an Art Machine” of images he created using Logo programs was held in January in Denmark.
Jørgen notes that “It is surprising how close to nature some of the simplest Logo programs come. A few commands and random - and you are in Darwin’s world. Despite Logo’s close relation to mathematics and logic it is a very good action painter! It is surprising how close to ‘art’ Logo can produce with a few very, very simple programs. Watching a picture grow in slow motion with random intervals is close to seeing an action painter performing live.”
“Something seems to indicate that the simpler the programs, the more exciting the results. Trying to do this sort of “painting” in Photoshop would most likely result in less interesting work. And it is fascinating that Logo from a single command can make thousands of these pictures without two of them being just the same.”
“Working with Logo can be very creative in the sense that most professional creativity includes a lot of selection and throwing away. With Logo programs, it is possible to watch many variation of an idea without using hundreds of pencils or buckets of paint. RANDOM, which is an artist’s best friend (and worst enemy), becomes a little more handy when the not-so-good results can be deleted from the screen with a single click and not fill your waste basket and the floor around it.”
“Using Logo is in a way more interesting than using the possibilities in expensive professional drawing and photo programs. The initial part, analyzing the problem, is something that is too often neglected in teaching. The second part, finding a compromise between the result of the analyses and the technical possibilities in Logo is a real challenge. Watching the picture grow in slow motion is fascinating.”
Jørgen has provided samples of artworks he has created using Logo along with the programs he used to create them. Click on any of the images on this page to see larger examples of them and an explanation by the artist of how they work.
You can download the Logo program that created each image from each image’s page. Click on the link and the Logo program appears in a new page. Simply copy and paste the program into the Terrapin Logo editor, define the program, and enter the suggested starting command and the image will appear.
Use the programs to create more of these images or modify them to your liking to use Logo as an art machine and display your own creativity.
Contact Information
| Name | Jørgen Minor |
| Position | Artist |
| Location | Bogø, Denmark |
| Address | Hovedgaden 58, 4792 Bogø, Denmark |
| jminor@waoomail.dk | |
| Tags | Logo, Art, Europe |