Grey Path

Satoshi Aizawa’s “Grey Path” incorporates NumPy, a library in Python, as an homage to Fortran, the programming language symbolic of Hiroshi Kawano’s era. The work uses data from the artist’s Path series, with pixel-level transformations on a black-and-white canvas that are controlled precisely by an algorithm. This is the first time that the algorithm has been revealed to the public. Though the initial prototype was developed a decade ago, ongoing experimentation, discoveries, and breakthroughs have led to a final piece that has significantly evolved from its origins. While the prototype tended to follow a purely destructive progression, converging in a single direction, this new work holds both destructive and constructive elements in balance, creating a nuanced and dynamic interaction that embodies a “grey” quality. While the work is composed entirely of black-and-white elements, the intricate details create a visual effect that, when viewed from a distance, gives the impression of grey, which prompted the work’s title.

Each of the artworks in the collection features a distinctive visual characteristic — odd-numbered works appear concave, while even-numbered works appear convex. The size of each generated object directly determines the resolution of the artwork, with no cropping or added margins. To display the work accurately, it must be viewed at 100% of its original resolution. Scaling up or down will distort the intended effect, although enlargements at natural number multiples (e.g. 2x, 3x, 10x) are acceptable. The fact that the work may not be displayed correctly on social media platforms presents a unique challenge, highlighting a form of beauty that is easily overlooked in today’s social networking society.