Points Of View

Artist Peter Beyls thinks of the universe as one giant generative system revealing systemic behavior on numerous levels: from the unpredictable dynamics exposed in social structures to emergent functionality in the human brain to molecular interaction in cloud formations. In addition, much of his work develops from a fascination with complex dynamic behavior in found systems’ as observed both in nature and in products of human imagination. Such systems typically expose a particular identity while still offering boundless diversity within a given morphological scope. Beyls writes software that captures tiny aspects of human creativity and imagination to produce series of generative drawings as well as interactive audiovisual installations. A deep concern with the external attributes – the affective and materialist parameters of how the viewer engages with the work through embodied commitment – is key to his approach. https://www.peterbeyls.net

Peter Beyls is an interdisciplinary artist working on the intersection of computer science and the arts, active as a researcher, curator, educator, occasional performer and software artist. Beyls studied at the Royal Music Conservatory Brussels, the Slade School of Art, University College London and holds a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Plymouth, UK.He was a professor of digital culture at LUCA Brussels and The School of Arts, UniversityCollege Ghent, Belgium and visiting professor at various institutions in the US, Canada and Japan. Beyls was a researcher at the VUB Artificial Intelligence Lab, Brussels and CITAR (Centre for Research in Art and Technology), UC Porto, Portugal. Currently, he is a visiting researcher at the FormLab, UC Ghent. His research interests include machine learning in interactive music systems, generative autonomy in machines, cognitive issues in software artand human-robot interaction. Beyls published extensively on various aspects of computational art. Two monographs document his work; Simple Thoughts (MER Publishing, 2014) and Coming Full Circle (Verbeke Foundation, 2019).