The Making of Confluence of Commands

A Participatory Conceptual Artwork Created by the Participants of the 100 Year Ed Tech Project

On Wednesday, March 19, 2025, educators participating in the 100 Year Ed Tech Project were invited to collaboratively create the artwork by following a set of instructions drafted by AI. Learn more about this activity, or remix and run a version of it for yourself by exploring the instructions below.

Instructions for Creating Confluence of Commands (2025)

Objective: Contribute to a unique piece of collaborative art. The work is inspired by the conceptual style of Sol LeWitt and the artistic style of painter Mildred Thompson, with a modern twist using AI-generated prompts.

Materials Provided:

• Large canvas ready for your creativity
• Variety of paint markers and paints

Instructions:

1. Choose Your Prompt: Review the AI-generated prompts displayed on this board. Each prompt is inspired by Sol LeWitt’s style but crafted by AI to foster unique artistic interpretations that follow the painting style of Mildred Thompson.
2. Find Your Space: Select any area on the canvas that speaks to you. There is no assigned spot, so feel free to choose where your contribution will make its mark.
3. Create Your Art: Use the paint markers provided to interpret and execute your chosen prompt on the canvas. Let your creativity flow—there is no right or wrong way to express these instructions.
4. Collaborate and Build: Feel free to draw inspiration from the work of others around you. This project is about community and how we can build something beautiful together.
5. Step Back and Admire: Once you have added to our canvas, take a step back and see how your piece contributes to the bigger picture. This artwork is a testament to the power of collaboration, blending individual creativity with collective vision.
6. Reflection: After participating, consider how this experience of using AI prompts and communal drawing compares to traditional solitary art creation. What does this say about the future of art and technology?
7. Takeaway: On Friday, March 21, 2025, we will separate the artwork into pieces that you can take home in small mats as an artifact of our collective creativity, with our thanks for contributing to our collaborative masterpiece.

Prompts

Select one of the directions below and paint it on the canvas. You can choose more than one if you would like.

• Paint a curved, swirling line that moves across the canvas, changing thickness as it flows.
• Use short, rhythmic brushstrokes in two warm colors to build texture in one area.
• Add a cluster of small circular marks, allowing some to overlap and blend into the background.
• Using a bold color, create a series of spirals that stretch and morph as they move outward.
• Choose a contrasting color and draw a sweeping arc that interacts with existing lines.
• Fill a corner of the canvas with a dense cluster of dashes in varying sizes and colors.
• Create a jagged, crackling path of energy using only short, sharp strokes.
• Draw a looping, twisting ribbon of color that weaves in and out of other marks.
• Using a thin brush, scatter tiny dots across the canvas in a color that vibrates against the background.
• Fill an area with overlapping semicircles, using at least three different colors.
• Paint a set of nested circles, each one slightly distorted as if being pulled by movement.
• Using a bold, bright hue, create a series of wavy lines that move diagonally.
• Introduce a new color by painting small curved marks, following the flow of existing strokes.
• Draw intersecting, radiating lines that mimic an explosion of energy.
• Use a dry brush to drag color across the surface, creating a faded or textured effect.
• Find an open space and add rapid, gestural marks that mimic swirling wind.
• Paint concentric rings in an organic, imperfect way, as if rippling outward.
• Use two colors to create a set of tangled, overlapping lines.
• Draw a path of connected spirals that twist unpredictably.
• Add a jagged, lightning-like mark in a contrasting color to break up the space.
• Fill a section of the canvas with clustered dots and dashes, mimicking static or movement.
• Use a palette knife or thick brush to create a textured streak of color that cuts across existing forms.
• Introduce a new hue by painting a large, irregularly shaped blotch, allowing it to blend into the background.
• Fill a portion of the painting with small, floating ovals, some solid, some outlined.
• Draw several radiating curved lines, making them spiral outward from a central point.
• Choose a color not yet dominant in the painting and add a sweeping motion with thick, undulating strokes.
• Add small, erratic squiggles in at least two places on the canvas.
• Create a cluster of short diagonal strokes that shift in color as they move outward.
• Draw a pattern of small circles connected by curved or wavy lines, as if they are floating.
• Choose a deep, rich color and paint an amorphous, cloud-like form that drifts across the composition.
• Use long, fluid strokes to add a wave-like motion that extends from one edge to another.
• Draw zigzagging marks that radiate outward from a central point.
• Create a jagged shape and fill it with parallel, curving lines.
• Add short, angular lines that contrast with the existing smooth, organic strokes.
• Scatter small clusters of dots in an unexpected color across the surface.
• Draw a twisting, vine-like shape that overlaps other marks.
• Introduce a glowing effect by painting thin halos around certain existing shapes.
• Fill an area with layered, curving lines that overlap and weave through each other.
• Use a bright accent color to add small, irregularly shaped bursts of energy.
• Draw a long, meandering line that loops back on itself multiple times.
• Create a fan of lines that radiates outward like sun rays.
• Use a different tool (fingers, sponge, or cloth) to smudge and blend part of the composition.
• Paint a swirling motion that mimics a vortex, blending multiple colors together.
• Scatter small, broken dashes in a rhythmic pattern across one section of the painting.
• Layer overlapping circles in warm and cool tones, adjusting transparency as needed.
• Introduce movement by painting elongated S-curves that dance across the composition.
• Add streaks of unexpected color at different angles to break up the existing flow.
• Use short, curved brushstrokes to build a textured patch of color, varying density.
• Paint a bold, thick spiral that remains unbroken as it expands outward.
• Stand back, observe, and add one small mark that balances the composition.

Further Reading

Click on the link below to learn more about the origins of Confluence of Commands, including the history of conceptual art and its evolution in the age of AI.

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Image at Top: Angela Gunder. “To Nurture Something Unfathomable.” June 17, 2024. Digital painting in Adobe Fresco.