Evolutionary art is created using a computer. The process starts by having a population of many randomly generated individual representations of artworks. Each representation is evaluated for its aesthetic value and given a fitness score. The individuals with the higher fitness scores have a higher chance of remaining in the population while individuals with lower fitness scores are more likely to be removed from the population. This is the evolutionary principle of Survival of the fittest. The survivors are randomly selected in pairs to mate with each other and have offspring. Each offspring will also be a representation of an art work with some inherited properties from both of its parents. These offspring will then be added to the population and will also be evaluated and given a fitness score. This process of evaluation, selection and mating is repeated for many generations. Sometimes mutation is also applied to add new properties or change existing properties of a few randomly selected individuals. Over time the pressure from the fitness selection generally causes the evolution of more aesthetic combinations of properties that make up the representations of the artworks.

Evolutionary art is a branch of Generative art, which system is characterized by the use of evolutionary
principles and natural selection as generative procedure. It distinguishes from BioArt by its medium dependency. If the latter adapts a similar project with carbon-based organisms, Evolutionary Art evolves silicon-based systems.

In common with natural selection

Natural selection

Natural selection is the nonrandom process by which biologic traits become either more or less common in a population as a function of differential reproduction of their bearers. It is a key mechanism of evolution....

 and animal husbandry

Animal husbandry

Animal husbandry is the agricultural practice of breeding and raising livestock.- History :Animal husbandry has been practiced for thousands of years, since the first domestication of animals....

, the members of a population undergoing artificial evolution modify their form or behavior over many reproductive generations in response to a selective regime.

In interactive evolution

Interactive evolutionary computation

Interactive evolutionary computation or aesthetic selection is a general term for methods of evolutionary computation that use human evaluation...

 the selective regime may be applied by the viewer explicitly by selecting individuals which are aesthetically pleasing. Alternatively a selection pressure can be generated implicitly, for example according to the length of time a viewer spends near a piece of evolving art.

Equally, evolution may be employed as a mechanism for generating a dynamic world of adaptive individuals, in which the selection pressure is imposed by the program, and the viewer plays no role in selection, as in the Black Shoals

Black Shoals

Black Shoals is an artificial ecosystem linked to the real time dynamics of the stock market. It was first shown at the Tate Gallery in 2001, and nominated for an Alternative Turner Prize in 2002...

 project.

See also

• Digital morphogenesis
  Digital morphogenesis
  Digital morphogenesis is a process of shape development enabled by computation. While this concept is applicable in many areas, the term "digital morphogenesis" is used primarily in architecture....
  
  
• Electric Sheep
  Electric Sheep
  Electric Sheep is a distributed computing project for animating and evolving fractal flames, which are in turn distributed to the networked computers, which display them as a screensaver.-Process:...
  
  
• Evolutionary music
  Evolutionary music
  Evolutionary music is the audio counterpart to Evolutionary art, whereby algorithmic music is created using an evolutionary algorithm. The process begins with a population of individuals which by some means or other produce audio , which is either initialized randomly or based on human-generated...
  
  
• NEAT Particles
  NEAT Particles
  NEAT Particles is an Interactive evolutionary computation program that enables users to evolve particle systems intended for use as special effects in video games or movie graphics. Rather than being hand-coded like typical particle systems, the behaviors of NEAT Particle effects are evolved by...
  
  
• Universal Darwinism
  Universal darwinism
  Universal Darwinism refers to a variety of approaches that extend the theory of Darwinism beyond its original domain of biological evolution on Earth...
  
  

Further reading

• Metacreations: Art and Artificial Life, M Whitelaw, 2004, MIT Press
• The Art of Artificial Evolution: A Handbook on Evolutionary Art and Music, Juan Romero and Penousal Machado (eds.), 2007, Springer
• Evolutionary Art and Computers, W Latham, S Todd, 1992, Academic Press
• Genetic Algorithms in Visual Art and Music Special Edition: Leonardo. VOL. 35, ISSUE 2 - 2002 (Part I), C Johnson, J Romero Cardalda (eds), 2002, MIT Press
• Evolved Art: Turtles - Volume One, ISBN 978-0-615-30034-4, Tim Endres, 2009, EvolvedArt.biz

Conferences

• "Evomusart. 1st International Conference and 10th European Event on Evolutionary and Biologically Inspired Music, Sound, Art and Design"

External links

• "Evolutionary Art Gallery", by Thomas Fernandez
• "Biomorphs", by Richard Dawkins
  Richard Dawkins
  Clinton Richard Dawkins, FRS, FRSL , known as Richard Dawkins, is a British ethologist, evolutionary biologist and author...
  
  
• EndlessForms.com, Collaborative interactive evolution allowing you to evolve 3D objects and have them 3D printed.
• "MusiGenesis", a program that evolves music on a PC
  Personal computer
  A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
  
  
• "Evolve", a program by Josh Lee that evolves art through a voting process.
• "Living Image Project", a site where images are evolved based on votes of visitors.
• "An evolutionary art program using Cartesian Genetic Programming"
• Evolutionary Art on the Web Interactively generate Mondriaan, Theo van Doesburg, Mandala and Fractal art.
• "Darwinian Poetry"
• "One mans eyes?", Aesthetically evolved images by Ashley Mills.
• "E-volver", interactive breeding units.
• "Breed", evolved sculptures produced by rapid manufacturing techniques.
• "ImageBreeder", an online breeder and gallery for users to submit evolved images.
• "Picbreeder", Collaborative breeder allowing branching from other users' creations that produces pictures like faces and spaceships.
• "CFDG Mutate", a tool for image evolution based on Chris Coyne's Context Free Design Grammar.
• "xTNZ", a three-dimensional ecosystem, where creatures evolve shapes and sounds.
• The Art of Artificial Evolution: A Handbook on Evolutionary Art and Music
• Evolved Turtle Website Evolved Turtle Website - Evolve art based on Turtle Logo using the Windows app BioLogo.
• Evolvotron - Evolutionary art software (example output).