Melissa Wiederrecht has developed a body of work that uses computational structures to engender an emotive connection between what is seen and what is “authored.” In doing so, she creates an interesting paradox: Using digital and analog visuals, she has moved further and further into the machine realm, applying both algorithmic systems and code to create highly texturized generative pieces that have lives of their own. Still, each image relies on a hands-on practice that is positively artisanal.

“I like to use a lot of blurs and textures that I code by hand to add depth to my pieces,” Wiederrecht says. “The lines in Burst and Cascade are all made in a similar manner: by tracing along a mathematically calculated line with thousands and thousands of little lines or circles right next to each other, until they blend together to look like a single solid line. The textures are minute lines randomly thrown about and delicately overlaid onto the pieces. The blurs are a very unique technique of mine — and generally involve calculating every single pixel of the piece individually with a different amount of blur.”