Art and Design Commons^™

Propeller, Joel Kahn

The STEAM Journal

This image is based on several different algorithms interconnected within a single program in the language BASIC-256. The fundamental structure involves a tightly wound spiral working outwards from the center of the image. As the spiral is drawn, different values of red, green and blue are modified through separate but related processes, producing the changing appearance. Algebra, trigonometry, geometry, and analytic geometry are all utilized in overlapping ways within the program. As with many works of algorithmic art, small changes in the program can produce dramatic alterations of the visual output, which makes lots of variations possible.