kadoin-lookingoutwards03

Melanie Hoff is a Brooklyn based artist who actually does a lot of generative art. In her project “15,000 Volts” she sticks metal screws into a piece of wood and passes a current of 15,000 volts through them. While the current goes through the wood it burns its path while trying to find the path of least resistance to complete the circuit.  Despite being a mesmerizing process to watch, the end results of the tiny lightning bolts burned into the wood is also beautiful.

I like this piece because  watching things burn is just very satisfying to watch. I love looking at the embers of a dying campfire and I love using the laser cutter to burn precise markings into things. This piece is like a combination between those two things with its slow burning but delicate line work.

Apart from the start point and endpoint of the burn lines, the resulting burn marks that make up the piece are almost impossible to predict, putting this piece of generative art in the the more disorderly category.