I work to surprise myself, to keep the eye satisfied and the mind activated with questions. This is enough of a challenge. The recursive manipulation of the picture plane is the perfect combination of the simplest means leading to the most satisfying results. The judgement of a curious eye cannot be reduced or eliminated if the goal is honestly compelling work. That judgement can be facilitated, enhanced, and liberated by the thoughtful and attentive application of algorithms, but somebody has got to steer.

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Tim Quinn came to art through the album covers of Roger Dean, the artist of choice for progressive rock bands around 1974. A strangely focused choice for a teenager, it predicted the abiding interest in automatic procedure that is the main generator of Tim's work to this day. At UCLA, he met Lee Mullican, who confirmed the rich history of algorism, with its roots in Surrealism and the intended liberation of the mind from habitual and routine solutions. While he was in graduate school, Charles Ray and Chris Burden were his advisors, who encouraged the rigor needed to follow through on difficult projects. However, it was a conversation he had with Mel Ziegler about Raymond Roussel that really opened the door for Tim to the possibilities of procedural techniques.

Through years of experimentation, centered at first around building actual machinery to make art (work for which Tim received an NEA grant in 1989), then later around algorithms, or recipes, to collage the picture plane, a theme emerged. In as much as it was meant to be a model of creative thought, Tim's first art-making machine clearly lacked the ability to reflect on its actions and change course. Simplified, this disability inspired Tim's basic algorithm: act, reflect, adjust, repeat. Additionally, a test of success emerged: "Is it compelling?" "Do you need to keep looking at it?"

From this reduced basis, Tim produced a few solid algorithms that consistently produce compelling images. One uses polymer clay manipulation inspired by glass and candy making. Another uses Applescript to produce hypnotic film loops resembling nothing so much as the sight seen behind tightly closed eyelids. Though the methods are different, they have two things in common. They both use recursive processes (the output becomes the input) and they both exhibit the swirling but distinct geometries that have become the hallmark of Tim's work at this developed stage. In point of fact, there's another thing they have in common: they both pass the test of "compelling?"

Have a look . . .

timquinn
Dangerous Curve