Variations on Base 2, 2020

Hommage an Max Mahlmann

This copyist masterpiece understands itself as a digital reference to the painting Netzeinheit dezentral (1974) by Max Mahlmann, which, at the time Variations on Base 2 was created in 2020, was on view at Kunstmuseum Stuttgart. The Stuttgart copyist Nico Franz stays true to his approach: he shifts the focus of the work’s inherent beauty—from line and structure—to a metaphysical plane of meaning. The rigid, programmable grid structure of the original is broken down into its elemental components and reassembled algorithmically without losing its architectural–mechanical character. 

This makes it visible that, out of countless possibilities, Max Mahlmann chose precisely these four visual worlds. The generative reconstruction reveals that the image’s seemingly rational structure is grounded in a deliberate, artistic selection. Form does not follow from the algorithm—the form follows the decision. What appears strictly structured at first glance unfolds, upon closer inspection, into an aesthetics of insight. It is based on simple mathematical principles, in particular powers of base 2. Precisely in this reduction, a surprising diversity emerges: the combination of a few binary decisions generates infinite complexity. Mahlmann’s work can thus be read as a spiritual avowal—a mirror of the great in the small. Even four variations already demonstrate the algorithm’s potential and remind us that mindfulness often begins in the details. The whole is nothing other than the sum of the smallest decisions.

From simple rules emerges complex structure: Variations on Base 2 translates the principle of Concrete Art into a digital formal language. Inspired by Max Mahlmann’s Netzeinheit dezentral (1974), the work explores the interplay of order, variation, and algorithmic logic.

The basic idea of the painting is a play with powers of 2—thus following a binary logic of continual halvings and doublings. At its core it is a very nature-related principle that, during Mahlmann’s lifetime, in its mathematical expression became the foundation of modern information technology—such as in circuits or network engineering.

2 = 2¹
4 = 2²
8 = 2³
16 = 2⁴
32 = 2⁵

Arithmetically interesting is the observation that the sum of the first four powers of 2
2¹ + 2² + 2³ + 2⁴
= 2 + 4 + 8 + 16
= 30

and the sum of the next four powers, each raised by one power

2¹⁺¹ + 2²⁺¹ + 2³⁺¹ + 2⁴⁺¹
= 4 + 8 + 16 + 32
= 60

stand in a ratio of one third to two thirds of their total sum. Mahlmann emphasizes this ratio by introducing the horizon line, which divides the square of an imagined height of 90 in the ratio 30 : 60.

With the aim of giving the digital work the impression of a photographed drawing, the gray area in the background is not homogeneous but, through randomly distributed shades of gray, shows a fine texture that comes closer to the original. The lines too do not consist of continuous strokes but of densely placed dots along slightly oscillating paths. Minor color variations within these dots intensify the impression of an analog execution and contribute to the overall effect of a drawn original. Each click on the image randomly generates a new version.