25 April 2025
I’m thrilled to share some exciting news: my project “Tangible Dreams: Exploring Visual Worlds Through Physical Neural Networks” has been awarded a grant from the Council for the Arts at MIT (CAMIT). Thanks to their support, I’ll get to build an installation that turns some beautiful algorithmic concept called Compositional Pattern Producing Networks into a tangible interface you can touch and play with.
Lately, I’ve been having a lot of fun hacking on side projects—taking algorithms from my research and turning them into playful experiments. I’ve made a visual demo of genetic algorithms that evolve colors, built bots that wander through Wikipedia, or created a pianocktail—a system that mixes custom cocktails based on the mood of a piano piece. You can check out more experiments here.
But one idea kept pulling me back: interactive evolution—a way for humans and algorithms to create together. The computer generates variations, the human picks favorites and, over generations, unexpected and beautiful results emerge. Picbreeder by Ken Stanley was a huge inspiration. It let people collaboratively evolve a specific kind of neural network called Compositional Pattern-Producing Networks (CPPNs) to create strange and fascinating images.
So I tried my hand at evolving CPPNs digitally with a project called CPPNWorld. Evolving these visual worlds in code was fun, but it also got me frustrated: I wanted to be able to feel the process. I wanted to get my hands in the system and help craft these images myself.
That’s when the idea hit: what if you could physically build and mutate a neural network? What if you could see the connections, twist the knobs to change parameters, flip switches to try new configurations?
That’s the concept behind Tangible Dreams: an installation where visitors can manipulate a neural network by plugging cables, turning knobs, and watching how these changes ripple through the system to generate colorful patterns projected on a wall.
Neural networks usually stay hidden—buried in equations and code. Here, they become something you can hold, tweak, and play with. No need to know math. Just curiosity, your hands, and a willingness to mess around.
Every cable you plug, every knob you twist is a little experiment: What happens if I connect this node to that one? What if I boost this parameter? The system responds immediately with new, often surprising visuals.
I want people to have that “aha!” moment—the same spark I felt when I first understood how simple mathematical rules can create rich, unexpected worlds.
The Council for the Arts at MIT (CAMIT) has been supporting creative projects at MIT since the 70s.
Their grants program helps MIT’s artists, makers, and researchers turn wild ideas into real experiences that engage the whole MIT community.
With their support, Tangible Dreams will be exhibited in the Stata Center in September 2025.
I can’t wait to see students, faculty, and visitors explore it—and maybe even discover a little magic themselves.
Over the next few months, I’ll be designing the physical system at the Metropolis makerspace, learning more about electronics, and putting everything together into a working installation.
I’ll be documenting the whole process here—so stay tuned!
Follow me on Twitter @cedcolas for updates!
Follow @ArtsatMIT to hear more about other art projects at MIT!
