Shape Grammars and the Generative Specification of Painting and Sculpture

Abstract

A method of shape generation using shape grammars which take shape as primitive and have shape specific rules is presented. A formalism for the complete, generative specification of a class of non-representational, geometric paintings or sculptures is defined, which has shape grammars as its primary structural component. Paintings are material representations of two-dimensional shapes generated by shape grammars, sculptures of three-dimensional shapes. Implications for aesthetics and design theory in the visual arts are discussed. Aesthetics is considered in terms of specificational simplicity and visual complexity. In design based on generative specifications, the artist chooses structural and material relationships and then determines algorithmically the resulting art objects. We present a formalism for the complete specification of families of nonrepresentational, geometric paintings and sculptures. Formally defining the specification of an art object independently of the object itself provides a framework in which theories of design and aesthetics can be developed. The specifications