project #5 optical illusion

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a description of your project idea including context and visual strategy you have employed

My family is from Sweden, me and my younger brother are the only members born in America (and subsequently the only ones who can’t speak the language). Everyone else is a born and bred Swede. I decided to base my design around viking rune stones. Norse mythology has long since been my favorite connection to Swedish culture and I wanted to explore that more.

The Rune stones surviving from the Viking period are almost entirely unique to Scandinavia. These massive, elaborately decorated slabs were erected in honor of the dead. They are not gravestones, and were not necessarily placed near the site of burial. These memorials of the (mostly) rich and powerful provide a close look at viking culture as the inscriptions talk of the person’s life's achievements, deaths and families.

I wanted to incorporate the illusion of translating the runes to English as well as a mesmerizing swirling starry sky illusion. To achieve these goals, I created sketches beforehand, keeping in mind the skills I learned from the tutorials to create a jumping off point for my code.

what are some impacts and effects of translating the pattern of your choice into digital, animating form?

It was difficult to transform the pattern I was given into a manageable pattern. Viking rune stones are full of swirling, twisting trails of complicated glyphs. SO I decided to focus on the background as the patterned illusion and utilize the stone for an interesting animation moment.

how does creating an optical illusion recontextualizes how the pattern was traditionally used & understood?

Many historical patterns are static, and meant to be readable and understood. An optical illusion is neither. These patterns shift and warp under gaze and the true meaning or shape of the thing has to be negotiated out if that is even possible. However the idea of repetition and organization are still important when creating both and the translation from one into the the other isn’t a far stretch for any designer seeking to do so.

code

https://editor.p5js.org/myleshouse/sketches/ewAWx8kP0

credit