Controlling Generative Processes of Generative Art Somnuk Phon-

Computers have now become a crucial component in the process of digital media contents creation. Computer programs have been written to generate artistic artifacts, for examples, poetry, painting and music. These artifacts could be classified along the spectrum of algorithmic complexity of the programs, where order is at one end and disorder is at the other end. The artifacts classified toward the order end of the spectrum possess a clear structure (e.g., symmetry and tiling) while the artifacts classi–fied toward the disorder end do not have any structure at both local and global levels (e.g., randomisation). Highly ordered or disordered generative art artifacts are generated from effcient algorithms that are simpler than those used to generate artifacts classified as lying between the order and disorder extremes. Control is embedded in the programs and it expresses the intention and strategy of the creative process. In this paper, we investigate the issue of control in generative art. We argue that the control expressed in the programs is a crucial component in a generative process. Hence, the ability to exert control is important in guiding the creative processes to intentionally generate complex and interesting artifacts. We describe the nature of the control observed in the generative process of computer generative art techniques. We then present examples of computer generated painting and discuss the control employed in the generative processes.