Creative Sessions #2: A chat with Gary Ang (Ming // Plygrd)

We’re already halfway through August, and that means this month’s creative session is right around the corner!

For this month, we have none other than a ming//plygrd (also goes by the name Gary.) who will be presenting on how Art, Code, Math, Artificial Intelligence (AI) all collide.

"Singapore Evening – The twilight hours are comforting. The sounds of family impart a sense of peace and belonging." 

THE STORY BEHIND THE ARTIST
Gary possesses a background in engineering and finance, but he happened to find his creative awakening in illustration. He is inspired by the everyday scenes that he comes across, which he is always raring to capture. 

His works seem to evoke a blend of fantasy, surrealism and largely nostalgia, which I pointed out when we met. Yet, he retorts with a surprising fact – he never creates an artwork in the pursuit of nostalgia or any theme for that matter – it just happens to be that way. He shares that his creative process starts off with him seeing a beautiful structure that he feels inspired by. It is then, in a way, treated like a sandbox – he freely adds on layer after layer of things that he’s feeling creatively charged by at that point of time. 

"Love is in the air – Imagining love in urban landscapes"

"Dakota Dreams – Another Estate, Gone Soon"

He has also made an illustration for us which embodies a lollapalooza of familiar local scenes. Check it out:

HISTORICAL LANDMARKS: To what extent is preserving a building necessary for our modern society?

For him, he preserves memories of a certain landmark by the one way that he knows — illustration. And for him to add his creative quirks to the pieces, he imbues it with what he deems fitting of his artwork. Manifesting from mind to canvas – that’s his unique way of immortalising the memories.

SO WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE NEXT CREATIVE SESSION? 

Mathematical functions (translation: equations  can produce some interesting-looking digital, generative art, especially when parameters and/or limitations are introduced to the equation; mixing patterns and randomness. The most accessible way to think of this; remember those visualisations on Windows Media Player you may have grown up with?

(Photo: GIPHY, Windows Media Player Gifs)

Gary himself has delved into this style in the last few years, and has generated some pretty neat pieces. Take a look:

"Peranakan Green – Pretty In Green"

"Waves — Evolving Waves"

When asked what he hopes for attendees to take away from this session, he mentions only one thing – a great appreciation for the melding of pattern and randomness.

You will need a laptop for this creative session, as you will be doing some entry-level coding on the desktop version of Google Chrome using JavaScript. And don’t worry - you won’t need any prior, in-depth understanding of advanced Mathematics. All you’ll need is a good eye for design!

Sign up for your spot in this session here!

DETAILS

Date: 31 August 2019
Time: 1 — 2:30 pm
Fee: S$10
Venue: Naiise Iconic @ Jewel Changi Airport
#02-205/206
Singapore 819666