MAQ/November 2018 / 07
The $400 robot, which he built and programmed himself, continued, regardless, noisily squeaking and whirring away as it dabbed at the canvas.
It can paint the same picture repeatedly and without repetition. An original image – in this case, of the apples – is scanned into its memory. A brush stroke of random length, direction and position is generated, and is accepted if it fits within parameters, including permitted length, colour and overlap.
The process is repeated until a simulated painting has been rendered, which is then painted. And because each stroke
determines where following strokes are placed, each version is subtly different, yet still faithful to the original.
Todonai, from northern NSW, has been a working artist since 1983. He came up with the idea in 2008, inspired by how a 3-D printer extrudes molten plastic to create objects. He thought, why not spread paint on a surface instead?
"The Crucible" by Robert Todonai