Unreadable Cities

This generative artwork is inspired by Italo Calvino's Invisible Cities. A way to represent a text without illustrating it. Each square represents a city: the different hues color represent the different letters of the text, black dots are punctuation marks. Brightness remarks the position of the city in each chapter.

Non è detto che Kublai Kan creda a tutto quel che dice Marco Polo quando gli descrive le città visitate nelle sue ambascerie, ma certo l’imperatore dei tartari continua ad ascoltare il giovane veneziano con piú curiosità e attenzione che ogni altro suo messo o esploratore.

Each color is linked to a theme:

• ■ light_green > the cities and the memory


• ■ pink > the cities and the desire


• ■ red > the cities and the signs


• ■ brown > the slight cities


• ■ orange > the cities and the exchanges


• ■ yellow > the cities and the eyes


• ■ blue > the cities and the name


• ■ violet > the cities and the dead


• ■ light_blue > the cities and the sky


• ■ dark_green > the continuous cities


• ■ ochre > the hidden cities.

Original Diagram of the novel structure, here.