Different Strokes’ Enchanting Approach to Collaborative Art Creation

ign.com:

I approach the picture frame within the clean, white, minimal gallery space. I pause in front of it, taking in what can only be described as the crude scrawls of a child. A manchild, more likely. “They call this art?” I think to myself, as there’s no doubt about what the squiggles in front of me are depicting - meat and two veg, if you catch my not-so-subtle drift. Thankfully, a sign beneath the frame exhorts me to “please fix this!” and so I do. Well, I try to at least. I’m no artist, so turning an eyesore into eye candy isn’t very likely, but at least it won’t be a plonker portrait anymore.

Different Strokes’ setting is an art gallery in which the visitors create the art. More than that, however, each piece is a collaboration between two people. Fresh frames dot the gallery space, and it’s simplicity itself to interact with one, which then brings up a basic set of tools - brushes of different sizes, a paint bucket, a few basic colours to choose from. You can draw whatever you like, then hit upload and that’s the image that will be displayed in that frame. For a picture to be finished, however, it needs a second layer, so the frame will have the “fix this” tag on it. Whoever decides to do so can refine what’s already there or build upon it, or they can simply overwrite it completely.

The gallery itself is procedurally generated (and infinite), and each room is made up of a combination of blank slates, frames that need to be finished, and completed works. Visitors can stroll through, and anything that catches their eye can be given a thumbs up, while finished work that’s offensive can be reported. There’s some truly impressive work on display in these random rooms, but that’s not actually the point. The point is for this