DelphiChallenges
The development environment Delphi is seldom used to create art. Volker Diefenbach from Germany had the challenge, combining his passions for art and programming using Delphi and producing his images exclusively on the computer.
Results
With ArtGen, a comprehensive VCL application, he has managed to create a fantastic combination of two worlds that can be described as "algorithmic art".
Applications created with Delphi/Pascal are primarily used in the fields of science and technology as well as in business. The development environment is seldom used to create art. With ArtGen, programmer and artist Volker Diefenbach has managed to create a fantastic combination of two worlds that can be described as “algorithmic art”.
“After many years of producing analog works, the move to programming art opened up a new world of creativity for me. The possibilities to create sequences, to try out color variations, to duplicate, turn, reflect, overlay and distort graphic elements, and to use elements of random order allow the solution space of a conceptual approach to be creatively explored. The fundamentals are of course trigonometry and vector calculus as well as an understanding of how computer graphics work.”
Volker Diefenbach
Application
Over the years, a comprehensive VCL application called ArtGen has been created, which not only includes approximately 1,300 programmed artworks but also more than 130 effects.
From a technical perspective, the application currently includes more than 130,000 lines of code and over 2,000 visual objects. In accordance with art jargon the artworks are organized into portfolios.
In particular, the effects for changing existing images offer a huge number of options through parameterization. But the artistic idea and the design concept are decisive for every image as well.
As images created on a computer can be reproduced at will, it was obvious right from the very beginning that strict limitations on print runs would be necessary. Because in the end, an image created this way is only an original if it is signed and numbered by the artist.
The Results
What do Volker Diefenbach’s artworks look like? This small online gallery shows a selection from various portfolios:
These pictures are usually acquired at art exhibitions or in direct contact with the artist.
“I have used Delphi since the early versions and am fascinated by the extensive range of options Delphi provides me with to work productively. I have, of course, looked beyond this from time to time but have never found anything I can work with better than with Delphi.”
Volker Diefenbach