In 2025, Nicu Popescu presented his paper Algorithmic Archaeology of Folk Motifs: Nature, Code, and Cultural Memory during an ALPACA watch-party at Universität der Künste Berlin, with additional audiences joining online from the UK, Spain and Austria. The session blended a walkthrough of the research with live, interactive demonstrations showing how reaction–diffusion systems can echo and reinterpret traditional folk motifs.
About the Event
The presentation was part of ALPACA — a conference and festival dedicated to pattern, code and cultural expression. The UDK watch-party offered a hybrid format: in-person discussion in Berlin, paired with remote hubs tuning in across Europe.
Popescu guided the audience through the ideas behind the paper, focusing on how natural pattern-forming processes might help explain the visual language found in folk art. Reaction–diffusion snippets were adjusted live, letting people see how small parameter shifts lead to structure, variation and motif-like forms.
Live Demos
During the session, several interactive elements were shown:
- reaction–diffusion simulations evolving in real time
- parameter manipulation to reveal how motifs emerge or break apart
- side-by-side examples connecting RD behavior to folk-art geometry
- short interactive patches demonstrating controllable pattern drift
On-site Interactive RD Organism
Alongside the presentation, Nicu installed a small live “organism” built on a Raspberry Pi. It ran a reaction–diffusion system that responded to movement — waving a hand near the sensor would shift parameters and push the pattern into new behaviors. The setup sat in the room during the watch-party, evolving continuously and reacting to the audience.
Photos
Publication
The presentation was based on the paper:
Algorithmic Archaeology of Folk Motifs: Nature, Code, and Cultural Memory
In: Proceedings of the Algorithmic Pattern Conference in the Creative Arts (ALPACA 2025)
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17084384
https://2025.algorithmicpattern.org/proceedings/9DMXE7/paper.html
Documentation / References
Official UDK Berlin streaming archive — full recording of the 2025 presentation at Universität der Künste Berlin.
https://stream.udk-berlin.de/w/p/aTkSEkXLw5seUX9mhWm39S?playlistPosition=1