Skip to main content

Grammars and Art

A Contingent Sense of Rules

  • Conference paper
CAAD futures 1997
  • 395 Accesses

Abstract

This paper contributes to the debate about the utility of the grammatical paradigm in art and design. It reports an investigation of the contingent sense in which grammars and grammatical design apply in the practice of form making in art using two complementary research strategies: the examination through a perspective of grammatical design of some selected bodies of art work, including interviews with artists, theorists and designers; and the reflective practice of image making with computer media in my own work as an artist. The major hypothesis is that a contingent sense of grammar can facilitate the creation, understanding, and discussion of form-making in art. The sub-hypotheses are that (1) An understanding of grammatical design can enhance a reflective design activity, and that (2) Revealing the contingency of grammars can expose moments of inspiration and redirection in a reflective design activity.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Bowman, R. (1983). Philip Pearlstein: the complete paintings, Alpine Fine Arts Collection, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chase, S. C. (1989). Shapes and shape grammars: from mathematical model to computer implementation. Planning and Design, 162, 215–241.

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, H., and Cohen, B. (1984). The First Artificial Intelligence Colouring Book, William Kaufman, Inc, Los Altos, CA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Colan, C. (1995). Paul Klee Grammar, Masters Thesis, Univeristy of Massachusetts, Amherst.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eastman, C. M. (1973). Automated Space Planning. Artificial Intelligence, 41, 41–64.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Edmonds, E. A. (1992). Knowledge-based systems and new paradigms for creativity. Modelling Creativity and Knowledge-based Creative Design, J. S. Gero and M. L. Maher, eds., Lawrence Erlbaum, New Jersey.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fawcett, W. (nd) The Design Engine., Working paper, Cambridge, UK.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fifield, G. (1995). AARON (computer programmed to generate images). Art New England, 16, 5.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hemming, U. (1978). Wall representations of rectangular dissections and their use in automated space allocation. Environment and Planning B, 5, 215–232.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Flemming, U. (1981). The Secret of the Casa Giuliani Frigerio. Environment and Planning B 8, 87–96.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Flemming, U. (1986). On the representation and generation of loosely packed arrangements of rectangles. Planning and Design, 13, 189–205.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Flemming, U. (1987a). More than the sum of parts: the grammar of Queen Anne houses. Planning and Design, 14, 323–350.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Flemming, U. (1987b). The Role of Shape Grammars in the Analysis and Creation of Designs. Computability of Design, Y. Kalay, ed;, Wiley Interscience, London, 245–272.

    Google Scholar 

  • Flemming, U., Coyne, R., Glavin, T., and Rychener, M. A Generative Expert System for the Design of Building Layouts — Version 2. Artificial Intelligence in Engineering; Design (Proc. Third International Conference, Palo Alto, CA), New York, 445–464.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gero, J. S. (1984) Knowledge Engineering in Computer-Aided Design., North-Holland, Amsterdam.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gips, J., and Stiny, G. (1975). Shape Grammars and their Uses: Artificial Perception, Shape generation, and Computer Aesthetics, Birkhauser, Basel and Stuttgart.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gips, J., and Stiny, G. (1980). Production Systems and Grammars: a Uniform Characterisation. Environment and Planning B 7, 399–408.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grabska, E. J. (1995). Visual Evaluation in Design Space, (forthcoming).

    Google Scholar 

  • Hanson, N. R., and Radford, A. D. (1986). On Modelling the Work of the Architect Glenn Murcutt. Design Computing, 1, 189–203.

    Google Scholar 

  • Herrnstein Smith, B. (1988). Contingencies of Value, Harvard University Press, London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holtzman, S. R. (1994). Digital Mantras, The MIT Press, Cambridge Massachusetts.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, K. (1995). Jennifer Bartlett at Paula Cooper. Art in America, 83, 130.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, P.-A. (1994). The Theory of Architecture, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kaneff, S. Picture Language Machines. Proceedings of Conference, Australian National University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Karatani, K. (1995). Architecture as Metaphor: Language Number, Money, The MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kirsch, J. L., and Kirsch, R. A. (1988). The Anatomy of Painting Style: Description with Computer Rules. Leonardo, 214, 437–444.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kirsch, R. A. Picture syntax. Pattern Recognition, Proceedings of IEEE Workshop, Las Croabas and Dorado, Puerto Rico, 183–185.

    Google Scholar 

  • Knight, T. W. (1980). The generation of Heppelwhite-style chair-back designs. Environment and Planning B, 7, 227–238.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Knight, T. W. (1981a). The forty-one steps. Environment and Planning B, 8, 97–114.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Knight, T. W. (1981b). Languages of designs: from known to new. Environment and Planning B, 8, 213–238.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Knight, T. W. (1983a). Transformations of languages of designs: part 1. Environment and Planning B, 10, 125–128.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Knight, T. W. (1983b). Transformations of languages of designs: part 2. Environment and Planning B, 10, 129–154.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Knight, T. W. (1983c). Transformations of languages of designs: part 3. Environment and Planning B, 10, 155–177.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Knight, T. W. (1988). Comparing Designs. Planning and Design, 151, 73–110.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Knight, T. W. (1989). Colour grammars: designing with lines and colours. Environment and Planning B: Planning and Design, 16, 417–449.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Knight, T. W. (1992). Designing with Grammars. CAAD Futures, G. N. Schmitt, ed., Vieweg, Wiesbaden, 33–48.

    Google Scholar 

  • Knight, T. W. (1993). Colour Grammars: The Representation of Form and Colour in Design. Leonardo, 262, 117–124.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Knight, T. W. (1994). Transformations in Design, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Koen, B. V. (1987). Definition of the Engineering Method, American Society for Engineering Education, Washington D C.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lansdown, J., and Earnshaw, R. A. (1989). Computers in Art, Design and Animation, Springer-Verlag, New York.

    Book  MATH  Google Scholar 

  • Lauzzana, R. (1993). Chronological Bibliography of Visual Formalism. Languages of Designi, 279–283.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lauzzana, R. (1994). Chronological Bibliography of Color Formalism. Languages of Design 2, 353–364.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lauzzana, R. G., and Pocock-Williams, L. (1988). A Rule System for Analysis in the Visual Arts. Leonardo, 214, 445–452.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Makkuni, R. (1986). A Representing the Process of Composing Chinese Temples, Working Paper, Palo Alto Research Centre.

    Google Scholar 

  • Makkuni, R. (1988). Diagrammatic Interface to a Database of Thangka Imagery, Working Paper, Xerox Palo Alto Research Centre.

    Google Scholar 

  • March, L. (1981). A class of grids. Environment and Planning B, 8, 325–332.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • March, L., and Stiny, G. (1985). Spatial Systems in Architecture and Design: Some History and Logic. Environment and Planning B, 121, 31–53.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oksala, T. (1979). The Language of Formal Architecture. Environment and Planning B, 6, 269–278.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Petrovich, L., and Tanaka, K. (1994) Visual Proceedings: The Art and Interdisciplinary Programs of SIG-GRAPH 1994., Association for Computng Machinery, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Post, E. (1943). Formal reductions of the general combinatorial decision problems. American Journal of Mathematics, 65, 197–268.

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  • Rorty, R. (1979). Philosophy and The Mirror of Nature, Princeton University Press, Princeton, N J.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rorty, R. (1982). Consequences of Pragmatism, University of Chicago Press, Chicago.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rorty, R. (1989). Contingency, irony, and solidarity, Cambridge University Press, New York.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Schön, D. A. (1988). Designing: Rules, types and worlds. Design Studies, 93, 181–190.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Spiller, J. (1970) Paul Klee Notebooks Volume 1 The Thinking Eye., Lund Humphries, London, 99–100.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stiny, G. (1975). Pictorial and Formal Aspects of Shape Grammars on Computer Generation of Aesthetic Objects, Birkhauser Verlag, Basel, Switzerland,.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stiny, G. (1976). Two Exercises in Formal Composition. Environment and Planning B, 3, 187–210.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stiny, G. (1981). Design Machines. Environment and Planning B, 8, 245–255.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stiny, G. (1996) George Stiny: Interview by Dean Bruton..

    Google Scholar 

  • Stiny, G., and Gips, J. (1972). Shape grammars and the generative specification of painting and sculpture. Information Processing, C. V. Freiman, ed., North Holland, Amsterdam, 1460–1465.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stiny, G., and Gips, J. (1973). Formalization of Analysis and Design in the Arts. Basic Questions of Design Theory, W. R. Spillers, ed., North Holland Publishing Co, Amsterdam, 507–530.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stiny, G., and Mitchell, W. J. (1980). Kindergarten grammars: designing with Froebel’s building gifts. Environment and Planning B, 7, 409–462.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tapia, M. (1996). From Shape to Style, Shape Grammars: Issues in Representation and Computation, Presentation and Selection, Ph.D dissertation, University of Toronto, Toronto.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tarransky, A. (1995). Stella, Newman and Fra Angelico, Masters Thesis, MIT, Cambridge, Boston.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vakaló, E.-G., and Liou, S.-R. (1996) Speculations on the Morphology of the Plans of Seven Ando Houses., College of Architecture and Urban Planning, University of Michigan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Welsh, M. A. (1989). Computer-aided Conceptual Ship Design System Incorporating Expert Knowledge, PhD Thesis, University of Newcastle Upon Tyne (United Kingdom).

    Google Scholar 

  • Wojtowicz, J., and Fawcett, W. (1986). Architecture: Formal Approach, Academy Editions, London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Woodbury, R., Radford, A. D., Taplin, P., and Coppins, S. Tartan Worlds: A generative symbol grammar system. ACADIA, 211–220.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 1997 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

About this paper

Cite this paper

Bruton, D. (1997). Grammars and Art. In: Junge, R. (eds) CAAD futures 1997. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-5576-2_5

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-5576-2_5

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-010-6350-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-011-5576-2

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics