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Bogdan Soban
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Biography
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I was born in Vrtojba in Slovenia on 10th December 1949. After graduating from grammar school in Nova Gorica, I registered at the Faculty of mechanical engineering in Ljubljana and gained degree in 1974. It was in the faculty preparing my diploma that I came into contact with a computer and data processing for the first time. It was the time of punched cards and remote batch terminals. That was a turning point in my life and I entered in the world of computers leaving forever a field of mechanical engineering. My firs job was in the domain of information science. In my informational technologies career in several companies in Slovenia I was engaged in developing and programming commercial and business applications.
All those years being in contact with computer programming never disappear from my mind the crazy idea that a computer can do more than simply data processing. I had in mention the possibility to simulate the human creativity especially in the area of visual art. This challenge caused the development of a very interesting project that was my favorite occupation more than 25 years on my free time. I developed a lot of programs using generative approach to generate always new and unpredictable pieces of visual art. Each artwork created using my generative designed software is an absolute unique item and could be lost forever if not saved or printed. Often I used to organize exhibitions and live presentation, to publish articles and papers with the intention to propagate the basic idea of the generative art method.
I wrote my first “generative program” in the year 1983 on Commodore 64 which generated different geometrical forms in different colors. Until the year 1991 I was a little bit handicapped because I have no possibility to make color prints. In the year 1991 I got my first personal computer and the next year color printer. I started to use GWBASIC programming language and my project began to develop much faster. In 2001 I began to apply VISUAL BASIC, a very powerful tool for graphics. In the newest period I realize some short programs using JAVA APPLETS.
My way of programming passed through different technical approaches: pragmatic, standard algorithmic, combined fractal, deformation and mutation-reintegration principle. In recent time I work a lot to improve color harmony of my works using coloring palettes taken from nature or from world known works of art.
The first public presentation of my work I realized in the year 1995 participating in the Festival of Computer Art in Slovenia. From this year I participated on more than hundred group and personal exhibitions in Slovenia and abroad and I organized a great number of live presentations (video projections of the real time image generation). Several years I presented my paper at Generative Art Conference in Milan (Italy). Details: www.soban-art.com/slo-curriculum.asp
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Statement
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Working for a long time in the area of informatics often I have been thought about the other possibilities of information technology having in mention the creative abilities of machine. It was a daring idea until I didn't begin with experiments developing my own programs that have created simple images. I started with geometric abstraction using pragmatic programming approach. Introducing algorithmic concept and Visual Basic programming language the pictures as the results of autonomous generative process were much more interesting and perfect from the artistic point of view. My basic concept is not to interfere with the machine creative process. My author's creation is program code where I apply a huge number of mathematical formula and expressions with not to know in advance neither the type nor the style of the image could be created. The first image appearance of the new algorithm could be the real surprise or disappointment. After different adaptation of the code I can improve the final result but all the same all images created with my programs are absolutely unpredictable and not repeatable. Naturally that all created images are not good from my personal aesthetic criteria. The selection of the created images is my second important role in the whole generative approach in digital art. I believe in the aesthetic abilities of mathematics. More complex formulas are used better are results. Combining fractal concept with my previous mathematical approach was very good idea to obtain more complex and harmonised pictures. From my personal point of view the pure digital art has to be created using proper program code. Using Photoshop or other graphic software is nearly the same as using colour palette, brush and canvas and the computer plays the role of the wonderful tool. I agree that could be a silly idea to treat a computer as a creative partner. It sounds unbelievable but it works. A good question is now where or when I feel the artist's emotion as the most important part of human creativity. I feel it in the magic moment when new image begin to appear on the screen. The experience is much more intensive in the case of the first run of the new algorithm.
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Exhibitions
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