A framework for understanding generative art

In this article we argue that a framework for the description, analysis and comparison of generative artworks is needed. Existing ideas from kinetic art and other domains in which process description is prominent are shown to be inadequate. Therefore, we propose a new framework that meets this need and facilitates the long-term aim of constructing a comprehensive taxonomy of generative art. Our framework is divided into four major components: a description of a work’s entities; its processes and their environmental interactions; and the outcomes experienced by the work’s audience. We describe a set of diverse generative artworks in terms of our framework, demonstrating how it can be applied in practice to compare and contrast them.