Surrendering control

Aaron Wolf Baum uses his physics background to create art. After graduating with honors from Harvard University, he earned his PhD at Stanford University on a fellowship from the National Science Foundation. Now a full-time artist, researcher, and programmer using biologically and culturally inspired algorithms to create interactive, self-organizing visual and audio art systems, he goes by the moniker Doctor Friendly. Mask3 is one in a series of large format prints, and it reflects Baum´s affinity for self-similarity and the sources of organic beauty. Working with Eric Wenger´s Artmatic program, Baum used a macro image of a flower uncurling as a sort of brush, using its texture, color, and form as inputs into an algorithm that he created. The strong red of the flower versus the green of the leafy background let him isolate the flower´s curly texture from the nebulous background and reapply their shape, texture, and color in novel combinations and orientations. The majority of Baum´s artistic endeavors are influenced by his adamant rejection of technology as control. Instead, he favors biological metaphors and creating interactive performance systems that actually surrender control.