Shuffle
Summer '06
discipline:
computational art
theme:
information,
figure/ground
"Shuffle" is a work about the underlying pattern logic of the rules of many games and puzzles.
The piece manifests the steps required for 2 equal sets of distinct units arranged in a linear sequence on opposing sides with a single blank position between them to completely interchange their positions given the constraints of:
(1) The ability to advance into a blank position either by moving a single position, or by side-stepping a single unit of the opposing side.
(2) The inability to retreat.
The total number of steps required for such a transformation (including the starting configuration) = the square of (the number of units per set + 1).
"Shuffle" is effectively an overdetermined puzzle, the object of which is to get the player(s) to realize the pattern and generate the artwork within the timeframe they might plausibly devote to such a problem in the context of an art exhibition. The scale of the piece encourages collaborative and cumulative effort, and turns mathematical problem-solving into performance.
"Shuffle" is a work about the underlying pattern logic of the rules of many games and puzzles.
The piece manifests the steps required for 2 equal sets of distinct units arranged in a linear sequence on opposing sides with a single blank position between them to completely interchange their positions given the constraints of:
(1) The ability to advance into a blank position either by moving a single position, or by side-stepping a single unit of the opposing side.
(2) The inability to retreat.
The total number of steps required for such a transformation (including the starting configuration) = the square of (the number of units per set + 1).
"Shuffle" is effectively an overdetermined puzzle, the object of which is to get the player(s) to realize the pattern and generate the artwork within the timeframe they might plausibly devote to such a problem in the context of an art exhibition. The scale of the piece encourages collaborative and cumulative effort, and turns mathematical problem-solving into performance.
