BreederArt: Using Symmetry in Digital Design as an Ecological System

• Published in: International journal of technology, knowledge and society Vol. 8; no. 6; pp. 31 - 44
• Main Authors: Eiserman, Jennifer, Hushlak, Gerald
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01.01.2012
• Subjects: Architecture; Artists; Environmental Factors; Evolution; Redundancy
• ISSN: 1832-3669

Symmetry is a design element that crosses cultures and moves back into the depths of history. We can see it at work in the natural world as an important structural and functional principle. For example, humans are symmetrically structured in order to build redundancy into the organism; if one kidney fails, the second can sustain life. Inquiries into its use in architecture abound (for example, a search in Art Abstracts for 'symmetry and architecture' yielded 180 citations from the last ten years). Despite the importance of symmetry as a design element, the evolution of an understanding of its function in design beyond its use in architecture and biological systems has not been as well studied. The proposed paper will examine symmetry as an historical design phenomenon and develop a theoretical framework for its continued importance in contemporary design, despite the opportunities that digital technologies afford the designer to create structural integrity within asymmetrical contexts. Symmetry, within the context of evolutionary computing, forms the backbone of a body of work by co-author and artist Gerald Hushlak, BreederArt (www.ucalgary.ca/gerald_hushlak). We use this body of work as a case study to examine an instantiation of the use of symmetry within a contemporary digital context. Adapted from the source document.