This small experiment is a part of the pixel art project that started with SADI 2022. As in SADI, my basic canvas size was 15x15 pixels. Here, I packed 63 of these canvases in a 9x7 composition. I started with 8 simple motifs that can be rotated 4 times, giving me 32 canvases. Then, these canvases were inverted, switching the positive and negative spaces, and producing another set of 32 canvases. The resulting 64 canvases were one more than I needed for the final composition.
I then devised a 'system' (done manually as you can see from the sketch below) for the order of the canvases, starting from the top right corner. The goal of the system was to create an even, balanced composition. This was achieved by alternating between (1) canvases with >50% positive space and those with >50% negative space, (2) canvases with orthogonal lines only and those with diagonals, (3) canvases from the initial 8 motifs.
Once the canvases were arranged in the final composition, some extra adjustments were made for aesthetic and legibility purposes. The negative space of the canvases with >50% positive space was colored black, while for those with >50% negative space it was filled with a red/orange pattern. The positive spaces were colored a light gray, and a white border was added which, when allowed, continued from one canvas to the next, breaking the strict borders between the canvases. Finally, a dark gray was added around the diagonal lines, ensuring that the light gray areas remain orthogonal.
The composition can be seen as an automatic application of a system of arrangement, or it can be seen as an artwork, but also, it can be seen as the floor plan of a very strange building.
Process sketches
