"Beeldelementen" by Bart Simons

Bart Simons is a generative artist and digital designer based in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Simons holds a degree in Interactive Media from the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, bringing his design sensibilities to bear on a wide range of projects from virtual reality interfaces to print artwork. His artwork centers around the use of color and its ability to convey meaning to the audience, and how that meaning shifts with subtle changes of color values. His artwork has been shown internationally in Tokyo, New York City, and at Bright Moments in Venice Beach.

“Beeldelementen” seeks order amongst chaos. Bart Simons establishes structure by placing elements on a grid, then disrupting this order by introducing patterns, colors, and distortions. While the end result appears disorganized upon first glance, closer inspection reveals residual organization in the layers.

The graphic nature is reminiscent of collage constructed of cut up images from magazines. There is an echo of the punchcards which drove the creation of early generative art in the 1960s with programming languages such as FORTRAN being translated to holes in paper.

In particular, the concentric circles evident in some of the pieces belie the macro organization that is destroyed by the program. Repeated off-center layers thwart the attempt to find order, yet it can be found if each layer is examined and traced in turn.